Given the rise of remote and hybrid work, effective virtual collaboration has never been more important. Success requires more than technological solutions – interpersonal skill development is critical, too.
Collaboration skills in the workplace are key to any team’s success because they give organizations the tools to work toward common goals and more effective communication. But what do you do when teamwork doesn’t work? You can’t afford the loss of productivity, the depletion of energy, or the drain on the bottom line.
Our research has revealed several common reasons for teams not working. Some of the most familiar include competition, turf wars, lack of team governance processes, and inadequate information sharing. Sound familiar?
Fixing a team’s problems isn’t a one-person job. Team members need to feel a sense of ownership over how the team operates. When problems arise, leaders must get team members to look at what’s going on and start to think about how true collaboration would replace or resolve their problems.
Building a truly collaborative team requires leaders to address what isn’t working, view trust as a must-have resource, and insist on behaviors that support collaborative principles.
Problems with teamwork are often tied to lack of trust. Without trust, people operate out of fear. Eliminate that fear, and teams gain productive energy, creativity, speed, and better results. Building trust requires a leader who is willing to show integrity, change behavior, and take on the hard work of dealing with differences.
Another key to effective collaboration is to operate on principles rather than structures, politics, or personality. An effective team leader helps the team turn these values into agreed-upon behaviors — which become the foundation for mutual trust, respect, and high performance.
When teams embrace an effective governance system and leaders commit to a culture of trust and collaboration, the building blocks are in place for success and strong performance.
Start replacing fear with empowerment at your organization by equipping your team with collaboration skills. We can deliver our world-class, research-backed teamwork and collaboration skills training content to them — or you can.
We can equip your facilitators to deliver a workshop or internal training on collaboration skills, either online or in-person, whichever you prefer:
Access everything your internal HR or team leaders need to upskill your people by holding a leadership workshop on collaboration and teamwork
Or, we can incorporate collaboration skills training as part of a larger leadership development initiative for your team or organization:
Combine with other topic modules and interactive experiences into a customized learning journey for your leaders
Our highly personalized leadership programs prepare leaders to address common challenges with boundary spanningÂ
Organizations that have partnered with us to upskill their people’s collaboration skills in the workplace consistently tell us the same thing: their experience with CCL made a significant impact on their culture — and their bottom line.
But don’t just take our word for it — take theirs.
“Coaching was powerful and better than I imagined. Now, we are a high-performing team that works together, and also recognizes that individual contributions matter — we are a composite of the best of our wisdom.”
Program Participant
Tarrant County College
Higher Education Institution Builds Cohesive Leadership Culture with a Custom Leadership Development Program
“We have created a critical mass of leaders who are connected, collaborative, and committed to our mission. We are working in more system-focused ways and leveraging our strengths in ways we never anticipated.”
Jon Abeles
Senior VP of Talent Management and Diversity
Mercy Health
Health System Creates Academy to Change Culture & Strengthen Leadership
Our experts are here to help. Let’s have a conversation about collaboration skills at your organization and how our collaboration skills training content could help support your development initiatives.
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Given the rise of remote and hybrid work, effective virtual collaboration has never been more important. Success requires more than technological solutions – interpersonal skill development is critical, too.
The most effective leaders work across boundaries, forging common ground with colleagues from differing positions, backgrounds, and locations. Evolve your approach with these boundary-spanning ideas.
For a team to succeed, all members should move in the same direction. Take some time upfront to agree on a team charter so you can define your purpose and track your objectives.
Why invest in team-building and collaboration? Because highly collaborative teams directly impact your organization’s productivity and bottom line.
In a team, every member plays a role that either helps or hinders progress. Learn some helpful communications tools so you can be a teamwork activator instead of a blocker.
Team work comes with challenges. When you understand what teams need to succeed — whether you’re in the planning phases or action mode — you can improve team performance.
To foster effective teamwork and collaboration within an organization, individuals and leaders must have a strong sense of self-awareness, highly developed interpersonal skills, and the ability to acknowledge and resolve conflict. When leaders commit to a culture of trust and collaboration, they’re laying the groundwork for success and strong performance. Teams that enhance their collaboration skills in the workplace see reduced conflict, faster decision-making, and increased productivity.
Developing teamwork and collaboration skills in the workplace requires leaders to have candid conversations about what is and isn’t working, view trust as a must-have resource, and insist on behaviors that support collaborative principles. With intentional effort, you can improve virtual collaboration at your organization and build stronger, more cohesive teams, even if they’re not co-located. Additionally, organizations that are looking to enhance their teams’ collaboration skills and to build more trusting cultures can equip their people with our research-based collaboration skills training content and solutions, available either online or in-person.Â
Throughout the pandemic, effective teamwork and collaboration has been difficult to achieve for many organizations. However, some of the best practices for managing virtual teams and meetings help showcase examples of effective collaboration in the digital age. For instance, an organization that values teamwork will use technology to communicate in real time more often, working diligently to train and develop their people. Also, many organizations may ensure that their teams are an optimal size, giving employees a chance to devote more time to less projects, thereby boosting engagement and teamwork. Learn more ways to set behavioral expectations and collaboration on your team with these 10 steps.Â
More questions? Our experts are here to help. Let’s have a conversation!
Package our research-backed collaboration skills training content with other proven leadership development topics and solutions for a customized, scalable solution perfect for your organization’s unique needs, context, and culture. Related topics include:
