Why Collaboration Is Key To Building Successful Businesses

And I quote, “Our internal collaboration sucks, we have none and I don’t get it!” end quote. A business coaching client of mine recently spoke these words out of frustration and anger and with blinders on. He was trying to point blame at everyone and everything except the real issue….the culture that he has created. The company is a fairly focused and driven company but all of their problems revolve around the fact that only one person is driving the car. My client, the boss and owner runs his business using the antiquated “Mushroom strategy”, meaning that he believes in keeping all of his employees and managers in the dark and covered in, shall we say, garbage. No discussion of strategy; no conversation with his teams; no open discussions and you guessed it, no collaboration…. and yet his frustration is focused on why no one works together! As my grandson would say, “Dude, wake up and smell the….” Well you know what.

The successful business of this generation is one in which everyone talks and collaborates with each other; each department; every manager and leader from the top down. The goal simply is to communicate better and collaborate more. However, in a new world defined by the power and use of information, some still stagger around in a world where communication and collaboration fall to a short sighted fear of openness and sharing.

Collaboration at work is the ability to be open to new ideas, be willing to share and not to get into a discussion with a pre-conceived agenda. The goal of any business owner should be to nurture a spirit of innovation using a collaborative work environment so that the best ideas are shared, agreed upon and eventually implemented.

Most start-ups that actually succeed in year one will have a rich story of collaboration! Start-ups that survive have created cohesive, open and innovative work environments with everyone sharing the vision of what a successful future looks like. And, if you have investors, active and open collaboration is the best way to keep them off your back.

What kind of team is in place? Do you have a shared vision? As a business leader, you need to be seen as someone open to new ideas. One who is transparent and involves everyone in the company. Today, any business that needs to succeed must be entrepreneurial in its thinking and should constantly work to tear apart the old fashioned silos that kill creativity and breed suspicion. They create a bad work culture.

Collaboration means communicating well at work. If you cannot keep staff informed, including rank and file employees, they will wonder why they are there in the first place. Everyone from the receptionist to the field staff should have a clear vision and a passion for the company’s growth. This is why a lot of employee-owned companies perform well as they believe in a shared responsibility to help one another, collaborate and achieve success.

Businesses will not be productive if they do not collaborate. Collaboration brings in clarity and it helps leaders change and adapt well.

Is your business in need of creating a collaborative work culture? I am happy to help and can coach you to become a better communicator and a leader. Give me a call and I am always available to help take your business to the next stage.

Be Great!

As a Master real world Business Coach, Danny Creed understands that success should be measured by emotional results as much as hard numbers. His clients benefit from his almost 40 years of “street smarts” acquired through 13 start-up businesses and domestic and foreign C-level sales and marketing experience He is referred by top business owners, elite executives and Professionals as a trusted adviser and expert in moving his clients from an existing level of accomplishment to that sometimes elusive next level of success.

Contact Coach Dan for a free one hour consultation to see if hiring a business coach is right for you.