Collaboration - shifting mind set

Collaboration is the essence of being an organization. Nothing new in having a common goal and working together to achieve that goal. Still in time there has been different mind sets in the way how this could or even should be organized.

Looking at the period that Taylor ruled (he still is in many cases in my opinion), organizations established a strict hierarchy where collaboration was enforced. In this structure there are goals and people are working together. But are these goals common?

Collaboration can't be compared with the definition we handle today. Working together has a broader meaning and a common goal means really share information to the extent of knowledge.

The strict hierarchy and the scientific study of tasks do not fit the purpose of shared goals and shared information. Organizations have to change to make collaboration successful. Move away from the detailed instructions and supervision of each worker in the performance of that worker's discrete task. This demands a collaboration mind shift, a change in how the organization is organized.

This doesn't just mean that the employee of the organization has to get used to share information, but more important management has a very important role in facilitating this change in cultural and social structure.

The biggest mind shift is the change in management style. Other competences are needed. Understand how to facilitate cooperation and how people are encouraged and motivated to contribute in the collaboration, how these people can take control over their work by being and acting responsible. Build trust.

Very often organizations forget this very important mind shift when introducing a new way of work based on collaboration. Often a tool is the first step, where it only should support the way in which the target is reached. Tools do have a purpose; they can lower or overcome barriers. For instance; collaborating between two people that do not work close together or even in another organization. They will not support the change of the organization.