When you hear the words group project, what runs through your mind? Are you excited at the chance to share collective knowledge with your peer group? Or perhaps frustrated at the idea of shouldering all the work while others slack off and then get credit for all your work? Personally I know a little bit of both these things go through my head. After reading about internal collaboration in the work place, I wonder how many people think about workplace collaboration as a large scale ongoing group project.
The idea of sharing one's ideas and not receiving personal credit for them goes against most of what we're taught in United States schools. We are put into competition with one another from the beginning of our eduction. Top students are rewarded, when doing group work peer evaluations are done so as to not give everyone the same grade, and collaboration on school projects is called cheating. So when are we supposed to learn the skills needed to implement successful workplace collaboration?
The first step any company needs to take before starting a collaboration project is to take a hard look at their corporate culture. Are employees in constant competition or do they often work in teams? Do you encourage sharing of resources or keep files secure in only one location? While pretty much any business can morph into a more open workplace it is going to be much harder for companies with highly competitive cultures.
Once a company has decided to go forward in their collaboration venture they need to get their employees on board. No matter how open your company may be, if the majority of employees were schooled in the US they are probably going to have trouble learning how to share. All employees should understand that without everyone working together the business would not be as successful. No one should feel forced to add to an internal wiki, but instead should want to share their resources with team members. Consider trust building exercises or company retreats to help build a more community based culture.
Internal collaboration most likely isn't going to just work flawlessly overnight. Employees need to be gracefully ushered into a community that shares all their ideas, taking credit as a group rather than individually. Through internal collaboration companies can have the wisdom of the hive mind, which is much stronger than that of the individual. Each employee brings to the table their unique set of skills and knowledge to the whole making it more dynamic.
You bring up a number of excellent points. Team work and collaboration can be fun, and may be able to accomplish more than an individual might be able to if the conditions are right. It helps if everyone involved is onboard and eager to contribute towards something they can all be proud of. Trust is definitely something team members can benefit from, and I think communication skills are vital as well. I particularly appreciated your last point regarding each person contributing their unique knowledge and skillsets to making an amazing end product. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteSo, I work for a textbook publishing company. I'm a project manager within the book production department, in my one location. Each location of book production (there are a few in the states and a few more around the world) and I honestly do not know anyone else in the various locations. One look at our department and you can easily see we are NOT collaborators. We don't collaborate with anyone outside of our physical location (barely within our physical location, for that matter) and we've been "silo'ed" for the longest time that we barely collaborate with our Editorial department, who is our main "customer". Within the last few years, our company has tried their hardest to make collaboration something we can do. It hasn't taken because we're all so used to working within our confined spaces and almost are reluctant to reach out. We're so proud of how different our books are from everyone else that we feel we "can't" collaborate with anyone else.
ReplyDeleteWe recent acquired an online learning solutions company and we had them move into our office building. We all looked at their tiny-walled cubicles and big tables in the middle of wide aisles and thought "Why?"
I agree that having grown up in a culture that fosters individualism my initial reaction to group projects is somewhat negative. However, while I may initially cringe at the thought of working collectively on a project, once the project goals are well defined and the project is underway, I often find that the end result is much more impressive then if I undertook the project on my own. Luckily as SLIS students, we have the added benefit of learning how to effectively collaborate with others and we can take these collaborative skills with us as we transition into the workplace. More and more companies are seeking employees who can successfully collaborate with others, so it appears that this attitude of individualism is beginning to change.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that a cutthroat environment will not foster collaboration, and companies with hostile work environments will need to take serious measures to induce a cooperative atmosphere. However, I believe that as more companies begin to value collaborative skills and seek employees who possess these skills, then the transition to internal collaboration will not be so tumultuous.