How Collaboration Drives Success

Most workplaces claim they value collaboration. But when you look at how they’re actually designed, it’s clear: They value individual success, not team success. Bonuses, promotions, recognition—all based on what you do. And one thing I've learnt working with 100+ companies, it's this: Individual performance doesn’t drive change. Collaboration does. Take IDEO, for example. They have something called help time—where people spend 5-10% of their week helping someone else, even if it’s not their project. Now, I can already hear the pushback: “I’m too busy. I have enough on my plate.” That’s exactly why teams struggle. The best teams don’t just focus on their own goals. They help each other hit theirs. ✅ Offering feedback when it’s not your job. ✅ Jumping into a conversation when it’s not your idea. ✅ Sharing knowledge, even if it’s not your responsibility. When teams work this way, everything changes: – Shared knowledge removes roadblocks. - More perspectives mean fewer blind spots. – Ideas collide, and breakthroughs happen faster. The best teams don't leave collaboration to chance. They build it into how they operate—every single day. If you want to build high-performing teams, Stop rewarding solo efforts. Start rewarding the ones who help others win.

Too often, I’ve been in a meeting where everyone agreed collaboration was essential—yet when it came to execution, things stalled. Silos persisted, friction rose, and progress felt painfully slow. A recent Harvard Business Review article highlights a frustrating truth: even the best-intentioned leaders struggle to work across functions. Why? Because traditional leadership development focuses on vertical leadership (managing teams) rather than lateral leadership (influencing peers across the business). The best cross-functional leaders operate differently. They don’t just lead their teams—they master LATERAL AGILITY: the ability to move side to side, collaborate effectively, and drive results without authority. The article suggests three strategies on how to do this: (1) Think Enterprise-First. Instead of fighting for their department, top leaders prioritize company-wide success. They ask: “What does the business need from our collaboration?” rather than “How does this benefit my team?” (2) Use "Paradoxical Questions" to Avoid Stalemates. Instead of arguing over priorities, they find a way to win together by asking: “How can we achieve my objective AND help you meet yours?” This shifts the conversation from turf battles to solutions. (3) “Make Purple” Instead of Pushing a Plan. One leader in the article put it best: “I bring red, you bring blue, and together we create purple.” The best collaborators don’t show up with a fully baked plan—they co-create with others to build trust and alignment. In my research, I’ve found that curiosity is so helpful in breaking down silos. Leaders who ask more questions—genuinely, not just performatively—build deeper trust, uncover hidden constraints, and unlock creative solutions. - Instead of assuming resistance, ask: “What constraints are you facing?” - Instead of pushing a plan, ask: “How might we build this together?” - Instead of guarding your function’s priorities, ask: “What’s the bigger picture we’re missing?” Great collaboration isn’t about power—it’s about perspective. And the leaders who master it create workplaces where innovation thrives. Which of these strategies resonates with you most? #collaboration #leadership #learning #skills https://lnkd.in/esC4cfjS

The Power of Teamwork: Beyond Individual Brilliance Working in a pharmacy outlet, I quickly learned that success wasn’t about how much I knew or how skilled I was individually. If left to figure out every detail—attending to customers, handling complaints, managing inventory, and ensuring smooth operations—it would have been overwhelming. Mistakes would creep in, and stress would pile up. But one thing changed everything: teamwork. It wasn’t just about greeting colleagues or exchanging pleasantries; it was about real collaboration—putting heads together to make things work. Each of us had strengths that complemented the other. One colleague had this special way of engaging a certain type of customer, making them feel so valued that they always came back. But that same approach didn’t work for everyone. Sometimes, it was me or someone else who had to step in, read the customer’s needs, and ensure we retained them. In pharma sales, this was the game-changer. We met our sales targets back-to-back, not because we were individually brilliant, but because we worked together. When one of us was tired or felt like the goal was slipping away, another would step in, encourage, and push forward. When we faced challenges—pricing concerns, product availability, or customer dissatisfaction—we didn’t leave it for one person to handle. We brainstormed, strategized, and executed solutions as a unit. This same principle applies beyond the pharmacy—to the lab, research work, and even meetings where critical decisions are made. No single scientist, salesperson, or leader holds all the answers. It’s in the collective effort, in leveraging diverse perspectives, that true success is found. Teamwork is above personal brilliance. It’s about synergy, intentionality, and lifting each other up. The goal? Not just to work, but to build something lasting—together. Thank you St. David's Pharmacy Nig. Ltd #TeamworkWins #CollaborationMatters #PharmaSalesSuccess #StrongerTogether #BeyondBrilliance

Over the years, I've discovered the truth: Game-changing products won't succeed unless they have a unified vision across sales, marketing, and product teams. When these key functions pull in different directions, it's a death knell for go-to-market execution. Without alignment on positioning and buyer messaging, we fail to communicate value and create disjointed experiences. So, how do I foster collaboration across these functions? 1) Set shared goals and incentivize unity towards that North Star metric, be it revenue, activations, or retention. 2) Encourage team members to work closely together, building empathy rather than skepticism of other groups' intentions and contributions. 3) Regularly conduct cross-functional roadmapping sessions to cascade priorities across departments and highlight dependencies. 4) Create an environment where teams can constructively debate assumptions and strategies without politics or blame. 5) Provide clarity for sales on target personas and value propositions to equip them for deal conversations. 6) Involve all functions early in establishing positioning and messaging frameworks. Co-create when possible. By rallying together around customers’ needs, we block and tackle as one team towards product-market fit. The magic truly happens when teams unite towards a shared mission to delight users!

With nearly 90% of employees rating teamwork as vital to job satisfaction, I've noticed that leading organizations are taking radically different approaches to building collaborative capability. The most successful methods I've observed center on human dynamics rather than process mechanics. Three key elements stand out from organizations achieving sustainable team excellence: 🔷 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙖𝙛𝙚𝙩𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙛𝙡𝙚𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 Teams dedicating regular time to examine their communication patterns see measurable improvements in candor and creative problem-solving. 🔷 𝘾𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙚𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙨 When teams co-create their operating principles, they naturally strengthen their commitment to mutual success and collective growth. 🔷 𝘿𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 Successful organizations recognize collaboration as a learnable capability - one that requires dedicated practice, coaching and reinforcement. What makes these approaches powerful? They acknowledge team dynamics as an ongoing practice rather than a destination. (Source: Flowlu - The Best Workplace Collaboration Statistics in 2024)

Collaborative leadership emphasizes working together with others to achieve common goals, solve problems, and drive positive change. It means getting into the often messy business of working with your people. Rather than rely solely on top-down decision-making or individual authority, collaborative leaders develop cooperation, communication, and shared responsibility-which is important because managing the daily execution of your business strategy requires the support and commitment of EVERYONE on your team, not just senior management and a few star performers. If your strategy is not known to all, you're missing a tremendous opportunity to leverage what you do on a daily basis to drive your organization's success. To do this effectively, it takes two critical components: 1) harnessing the actionable intelligence stored (often locked away) in the hearts and minds of your people, and 2) putting in place the support structure and communication system that enables you to manage the people on your team individually. When we get these two components right, we will have created a framework that sets us on a path for managing execution at a high level. Compare that with how most think execution happens: we simply assign work independently to our functional areas or departments and rely on their leaders to bring everything together by the end of the year. I'm not saying this method can't work; however, the likelihood of it's success is minimal. Just ask any of the thousands of leadership teams that repeat this process each year expecting different results. If your organization is full of disengaged employees, get your people involved in helping to solve the problems and challenges you're facing. To effectively manage execution requires the continuous input of the thoughts, ideas, and working knowledge from the people on your team. It's a leadership team's role, in any organization, to create an environment that successfully allows people to navigate challenges, solve them, and give the company the best chance of succeeding. To offer a sports analogy, this is like going on offense in the "big game". Turning your well trained and prepared team loose allowing them do what they do best. It's why you hired them. Except, traditional leaders don't collaborate, they go on defense. They play to "not lose" working to preserve themselves first, the company and its objectives always coming second. Success occurs when we can create a collaborative framework for success that allows team members to work unimpeded, up, down, and across the organization. This breaks down barriers and gives people permission to work with the right people on the right priorities. Collaborative leaders access all the talent, energy, and data (information) available to them and then determine the best way to use it. Are your leadership efforts, collaborative or traditional? I think you know where you need to be. #ceos #leadership #execution #strategy  

The race to integrate AI is on, and the productivity gains are promising. But an interesting (and critical) learning has emerged: most early AI wins today are individually focused. Take Google Gemini’s "gems" – powerful, customizable instructions – which right now aren't easily shareable between users, an early frustration for our team. Similarly, coding assistants like Copilot or Cursor are often praised for individual developer speed. This isn't a criticism; it's simply an observation of the current AI landscape. These tools will undoubtedly become more collaborative over time. However, this highlights a crucial point: AI doesn't replace the fundamental need for effective team collaboration. Recently, our executive team tackled a strategic challenge together. A product leader leveraged AI to generate an impressive preparatory memo – summarizing the challenge, benchmarking solutions, and offering recommendations. This would have taken a PM hours, if not days, previously. But the AI-generated memo was the starting point, not the end. We still needed to: * Debate nuances specific to Lucid's context. * Prioritize actions and assign ownership. * Document takeaways and define next steps. And Lucid was the critical canvas where every stage of that team effort unfolded – facilitating discussion, clarifying decisions, and ensuring shared understanding, making each step more effective. Recently, I met with a Fortune 500 executive. His company is mandating AI to drive significant efficiency and productivity gains, yet their "visual collaboration" is stuck on Microsoft Visio – a tool never built for teams and, much like early AI, centered on the individual user. I contrasted this with peer companies deploying Lucid to tens of thousands, creating a common ground for brainstorming, decision-making, planning, and collaborative documentation. There's a reason Lucid Software is now the #12 most popular business application in the Fortune 500. As you architect your AI strategy, don't overlook the bedrock of robust team collaboration that bridges individual productivity to collective action and innovation.

🤝What happens when Customer Success and Product teams truly collaborate? The results can be game-changing. When these two teams come together with a shared mission, the impact on customer outcomes can be transformative. Recently, a joint workshop with a customer highlighted the strength of this collaboration. By combining deep product expertise with actionable customer insights, both teams worked together to design workflows that directly address the customer’s unique challenges. This collaborative approach not only streamlines processes and fosters innovation but also strengthens the partnership between the customer and the business. When teams focus on common goals, customers benefit from solutions that align with their strategic objectives. How do you align your Product and CS teams to drive customer success? I’d love to hear how other teams are leveraging cross-functional collaboration to create lasting value for their customers.

Imagine this: Four experts, each a master in their field, coming together to design a training program that not only educates but inspires influence and synergy. The challenge was to develop a tailored program that would not only meet the clients' requirements but also elevate their team's effectiveness. What made this project extraordinary was the collaborative effort of four brilliant minds, each bringing their unique expertise to the table. The result? A training program that integrates trust, persuasive communication, and collaboration to boost influence, partnerships, and productivity. One of the key lessons we learned from this project is the power of collaboration. When diverse minds come together, the synergy created can lead to groundbreaking solutions. I had a chance to deliver this content last week and received stellar feedback. We identified a few adjustments, made the necessary changes and I am back again today to facilitate to the next cohort! This project reminds me of a quote by Helen Keller: "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." I invite you to think about your own projects and teams. How can you leverage the strengths of diverse experts, value those differences, and create something truly impactful?

Watching the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, I was reminded of the power of #Teamwork. 🤝💪     I see parallels between team sports and great teams in the #workplace. Both have captains and team members who thrive by using their diverse roles, backgrounds, experiences, and capabilities to achieve a shared objective.    While individual excellence is important, #collaboration is where the magic happens. Below are three ways you can rally your team and foster a collaborative spirit:    🎉Encourage individual strengths: Just like in a soccer match where each player brings their personal strengths to their role on the field, so do your team members. Recognize and celebrate the unique skills and contributions each one brings to the table.    💬Foster open communication: In team sports, constant communication is key. Encourage open dialogue within your team where everyone feels comfortable sharing ideas, feedback, and concerns.     🏅Celebrate team achievements: Just as a team celebrates a victory, take time to celebrate your team’s shared success.     At Deloitte, we’re committed to building a culture of #teamwork, where we can rally together to accomplish big goals. By creating a collaborative workplace, every individual can feel valued, supported, and inspired to reach their full potential.    Share a recent collaborative win and celebrate your team in the comments! 👇