Cross team collaboration and social responsibility are tipped to play an increasingly important role among businesses seeking to outperform the competition.
Can team collaboration help businesses survive – and thrive?
Collaboration and social responsibility are tipped to play an important role among businesses seeking to outperform the competition.
Collaboration – between different teams within an organisation, or with other enterprises or non-commercial institutions – has far-reaching benefits for businesses.
While an emphasis on competition over cooperation is sometimes seen as “survival of the fittest”, it may surprise many business leaders that Charles Darwin’s work, The Descent of Man, referred to “the survival of the fittest” only twice. Yet, he wrote of mutuality and mutual aid 24 times.
When it comes to mutuality, savvy organisations are changing how work gets done, and they’re reaping the benefits. Innovation, performance, culture and the bottom line are all improved when collaboration is embraced.
Internal team collaboration: mixing it up makes sense
Embracing the collaborative spirit and empowering employees to work in more flexible, collaborative ways businesses are better able to compete with larger or nimbler peers:
- Employees are aligned to a common vision.
- Communication is improved and trust is fostered between teams and groups.
- Talent is used more effectively. Freed from responsibility for entire tasks, employees contribute in line with their strengths.
- Fresh thinking is stimulated as innovation is encouraged.
- Internal barriers are broken down and turf wars are less common.
- Whole team learning is facilitated.
Making a major commitment to collaborative working and effective teamwork is a new challenge for many organisations.
It also states it takes time to hone any new process or mode of working, but by reassessing how we think about the notion of ‘work’ itself, the benefits of collaboration can be more easily realised.
Why smart businesses are collaborating
When it comes to cross-collaborating with other organisations, the benefits of IOCs (“inter-organisational collaborations”) are equally significant:
- Greater referrals are generated through networking.
- Joint innovation with external partners is fostered.
- Economies of scale are realised (e.g. jointly funded, more substantive R&D).
- Increased collaboration internationally brings exposure to new markets.
- A corporate sustainable environment is promoted.2
Collaboration produces organisations filled with self aware and aligned people, who generate fresh thinking and innovation.
It also states it takes time to hone any new process or mode of working, but by reassessing how we think about the notion of ‘work’ itself, the benefits of collaboration can be more easily realised.
“Business leaders who have ever doubted the potential benefits they could receive from encouraging collaboration should put to rest any fears and find ways to implement this strategy now”, he said.
In August 2016, we partnered with ARENA and Sunverge to launch the world’s largest virtual power plant (VPP) in South Australia. These kinds of partnerships and collaborations can drive meaningful change in the short term and help to revolutionise industries.
