5 Questions Business Leaders Should Ask To Improve Workplace Collaboration
For companies that employ multiple employees, or multiple teams of employees for that matter, it only makes sense to promote collaboration. Talented individuals can exceed their own limitations when they pool their skills and resources with one another. As a business leader, one of your most important responsibilities is to facilitate the collaborative process.
The best way to do this is not always clear, and it can vary based on a number of circumstances. By asking a few key questions, whether verbally or introspectively among your team members, you can find the right answers for improving collaboration in your workplace. Today, Beyond Discovery Coaching explains more about cultivating a collaborative environment.
1. How Can I Build Trust Within My Teams?
If you approach your subordinates with this question, you are already taking a huge step toward fostering a productive level of trust. The World Economic Forum notes that improving and changing your company's culture to one of inclusivity and acceptance is not something you can do without trust. Not only do you need to prove yourself to be trustworthy as a leader, but you also need to inspire genuine camaraderie within the teams you manage.
Perhaps the best way to build trust is by taking the right course of action even when it might paint you in a negative light. Admit when you are wrong and stand up for what is morally correct even if it makes you seem vulnerable as a person.
If you don’t listen or only provide excuses, you will not gain the trust of your employees. You must be open to admitting your faults and showing how you will address those missteps moving forward.
2. Do Individuals Feel Empowered To Initiate Collaboration?
The healthiest instances of collaboration are the ones that arise naturally and voluntarily. If teams within your company only come together when the boss tells them that they must, then you can expect the results to be relatively lackluster. Pumble.com points out that individuals should feel empowered to seek help or advice from anyone within the company without fearing judgment or consequences.
Try outlining specific overlap zones within the company that can attract teams together to tackle problems. For example, there might be an overlap between product development teams and marketing teams when it comes to brainstorming ideas that will appeal to a new market.
3. Do We Have the Right Tools for Effective Collaboration?
Modern problems require modern solutions, and the modern solution typically entails investing in new technology. As one idea, you might need to implement a new communication platform in all your teams if many individuals are working remotely. Having a digital hub for discussing project details and exchanging files is essential in today's work environment. Also, there are lots of time-saving tools that you can try out for free.
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4. How Can I Demonstrate the Power of Collaboration?
If your team sees you achieving great results by collaborating with other leaders, it can motivate them to put the same amount of effort in. Furthermore, it can drive home the point that the company promotes a culture of collaboration when leaders at the highest level show a strong willingness to work together.
Winning the approval of peers and executives can sometimes require some extra effort, however. Leaders tend to be result-oriented, so consider coming to the conversation with projections and visual data showing how your collaborative initiatives can benefit the entire company. For more ideas on how to show how you value collaboration, reach out to Beyond Discovery Coaching!
5. How Can I Simplify Collaboration?
The easier it is to make collaboration happen, the more likely it will be executed and accepted across the business. Make team collaboration simpler by digitizing company paper records and business documents. One way to do this is by making changes to a scanned document using optical character recognition (OCR) to convert your document into a fully editable PDF. First, in order to use OCR software, use a robust platform that allows you to convert text that is identical to the original document.
Final Thoughts: Don’t Just Talk about Collaboration – Show It!
If you are ready to create a team that truly works collaboratively, then you’ll need to show your employees how that will happen. It can be necessary to take a creative approach to improve your collaborative processes, and definitely involve your team in the process – since that’s your end goal. Start by proposing changes, showing your openness to feedback, and simplifying collaboration, and see where the road takes you!
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Meet The Writer!
Rebecca Moore runs Able Rise, which is dedicated to accessibility education. She is passionate about accessibility and the creation of better accommodations for those living with disabilities. Rebecca’s mission is to provide support to people with disabilities and to help educate their loved ones on accessibility. Email me at rebeccam@ablerise.net.
