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INSSIGGHTTEMPLOYEE MAGAZINE#07 JUNE 2016
OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE
TEAR DOWN THE SILOSOne of the biggest barriers to
cross-organisational collaboration can be a
company’s incentive structure, according to leading experts.
However, that can –and must – be changed.
BY MICHAEL ROTHENBORG JUNE 2016
“Riv Pyramiderna”, meaning tear down the pyramids inSwedish, was
the title of a bestselling management bookback in the 1980s. The
author, Jan Carlzon, was the CEO ofSAS, and his philosophy sparked
an era of growth for him and theScandinavian airline.
The era did not last, but not because Carlzon was wrong about
tearingdown pyramid organisations.
Recent research and experience show that traditional hierarchies
incomplex international companies fail to promote inter-unit
collaboration.
“And that is far from optimal, because collaboration and
teamwork areexcellent tools for boosting revenue,” says Jeppe
Vilstrup Hansgaard, apartner at the Danish advisory company
Innovisor.
Jeppe Hansgaard, Partner, Innovisor
Innovisor has won customers like Novo Nordisk, Lego, Maersk,
Caterpillarand Madison Square Garden by specialising in network
analysis – aneffective means of getting employees – and managers –
to collaborateacross units, and a method described and endorsed by
the HarvardBusiness Review.
http://insight.ramboll.comhttp://insight.ramboll.com/mailto:[email protected]
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Based on Innovisor research, a recent article in the magazine
concludedthat law firms earn more revenue when they promote
teamwork ratherthan reward individuals.
This is because the firm’s lone wolves may succeed in netting a
lot ofclients and thus personal bonuses, but at the expense of the
others – andthe total revenue. In other words, they are
cannibalising the rest of thebusiness.
“That’s why you must treat your lone wolves as black sheep,”
says JeppeHansgaard.
“And there’s no research to suggest that the link between
teamwork andrevenue should be any different in a big, complex
internationalorganisation like Ramboll,” he adds.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM JEPPE HANSGAARD
It’s not about you!Drop your alpha male attitudeand start truly
listening to yourcolleagues. You will probablylearn from it.
Help your colleaguesconnect!If you think two of yourcolleagues
could benefit fromconnecting, then connectthem.
Be transparent!Share what you know, soeverybody has access to
yourknowledge and information.
Always ask for help!Typically only one-third ofemployees ask for
help, whiletwo-thirds are always willing tohelp. We can grow so
muchsmarter and avoid “reinventingthe wheel”, if we just ask
forhelp. Asking for help is not asign of weakness!
Insight has invited five Ramboll employees with
differentbackgrounds and expertise to discuss and share their
experience withcollaboration:
Curiosity has to be nurturedGry Guldberg, Business Manager at
Ramboll Management Consulting,agrees:
“It’s a barrier if an organisation inadequately endorses
collaborationacross units. At Ramboll, for example, we have the new
collaborationaward coming up soon, which is very, very good.
However, someRamboll employees have traditionally received a lot of
credit for winningprojects for their own business units rather than
for helping with projectsrun by other units,” says Gry
Guldberg.
https://hbr.org/2015/03/when-senior-managers-wont-collaborate
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Gry Guldberg, Business Manager at Ramboll Management
Consulting
Both Gry Guldberg and Jeppe Hansgaard warn that having a
companywith many strong professionals in their own fields can
reinforce theunwanted effects of such an incentive structure.
“At Ramboll, for example, we have a lot of nerds. I’m a nerd
myself,immersed in organisational facilitation, processes and
dialogue. Most ofus, though, are also curious about other
professional fields – and thatcuriosity has to be nurtured,” says
Gry Guldberg.
Management can encourage that curiosity – and thus ensure
thecompany gets more and bigger projects – by sending a clear
signal thatinter-unit collaboration is vital. Making it a key
performance indicator foremployees and managers alike is one way of
achieving this, say GryGuldberg and Jeppe Hansgaard.
Get the conclusions from your colleagues:
Managers should not be afraidInnovisor specialises in analysing
which employees in an organisationalready collaborate – or simply
network – with people from other units.The consulting company then
presents tools that management can useto encourage and reward those
individuals and increase the likelihood ofthe One Company culture’s
spreading throughout the organisation.
However, what if some managers think that this collaboration
businesssounds a little too 1970s? Or fear that collaborating might
lower theirown units’ performance?
“Then they don’t trust their employees or themselves enough – or
areafraid to lose power. Or all three,” says Jeppe Hansgaard.
“Managers’ primary task, really, is to ensure that they hire the
rightpeople for the jobs. Not the highly skilled engineer, but the
highly skilledengineer that can – and would love to – collaborate
across disciplines andunits,” he elaborates.
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Another key managerial task is to think more about the company
as awhole than about one’s own unit. Otherwise, people wind up
practisingthe very silo thinking that Ramboll’s consultants often
advise theircustomers to avoid.
“If too many managers think in silos, sooner or later the
company’sperformance will be undermined,” says Jeppe Hansgaard.
If that happens, tearing down pyramids may no longer be an
option. Norsilos, for that matter. Then the whole company is at
risk of collapsing.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM GRY GULDBERG
Know the task – but not theresultClarifying expectations
abouthow to solve the task jointlyand thus generate synergy
willenhance your collaboration.Also, avoid having to defineand nail
down the result fromthe outset, but rather be opento what you can
createtogether.
Be generousShare your knowledge and beaware of how to
communicatewith someone with anotherprofessional background
thanyours. Leave some extra spacefor meeting andcommunication,
particularly atthe outset – and be generousabout who you are.
Be curiousBe curious about the peopleyou work with. Listen
carefullyand ask the questions neededto understand
theirprofessional contribution andperspective. Try to suspendyour
opinions andpreconceptions.
Define the processDefine your working processand flow, and
create clearmilestones and gateways thatlet you see and celebrate
theprogression of your work.
Have self-awarenessBe aware of your own blindspots, principles,
professionalstrengths and knowledge.These can hinder co-creationand
collaboration if you fail tosee the synergy and innovationpotential
– purely because ofyourself!
TEAR DOWN THE SILOSKEY TAKEAWAYS FROM JEPPE HANSGAARDKEY
TAKEAWAYS FROM GRY GULDBERG