How Employee Collaboration Promotes Excellence

Employee collaboration is the most fundamental reason behind the success of every enterprise. The successful entrepreneurs take every possible measure to ensure continuous interaction among their employees.

One such observation can be made when we study the case of Pixar’s headquarters in Emeryville, California. Steve Jobs designed an office that brought all departments, animators, executives, and operators under the same roof. His idea was that chance encounters will lead to a cross-pollination of ideas. In John Lasseter’s words “I’ve never seen a building that promoted collaboration and creativity as well as this one.”

This has become a worldwide standard these days. Every industry is now looking to provide such an environment in their organisation. Here is how a culture of excellence is enticed by collaboration.

Achieve Organizational Vision

Merely stating organisational vision is not enough to achieve it. In order to do so, one must understand the value of each profile and role in an organisation. That way the employees gets the bigger picture and know what they must do in order to grow individually. But more importantly, they understand what actions promote the growth of the organisation. This brings them closer to excellence.

Clear Purpose and Meaning

When employees know and understand the meaning, significance, and purpose of the work they do, they feel being part of something big. They understand their responsibilities and the influence of the work they do. This becomes the driving force that caters the employees to do their best. When the purpose is clear, they work toward perfection.

Influence of High Performers

It is rightly said, “If you just provide an environment, the environment breeds the rest.” In a collaborative environment, the top performers become the centre of attention. Every employee aims to become the best performer. They then are motivated to push their limits, hence creating a highly productive environment.

Tenacity to Change and Challenges

Changes sometimes breed distress and erratic behaviour among employees. It’s on human nature to oppose change. But in the growth of an organisation change is a necessity. In a collaborative environment, people interact and become more adaptable. The importance of change is conveyed in a familiar manner rather than a formal manner which breeds understanding within the employees.

High Functioning Teams

A big problem faced by organisations is that of silo mentality where everyone wants to guard their expertise and knowledge. This causes a limitation of resources and dependency over a few personnel. A collaborative environment naturally exterminates the silo mentality.

When people collaborate in projects sharing knowledge becomes a must. Since every employee and team is working towards a common organisational vision, they feel united. Being on the same side makes them open up and share their knowledge to achieve a common goal. And when collaboration starts at the top of the organisation, there is a sense of responsibility for sharing knowledge.

This ensures that each person in the team becomes as capable as the other. The motto “None of us is as strong as all of us” is then naturally understood and followed. This also ensures that each person can do tasks that may not necessarily fall in their domain but may at sometimes be the requirement of time.

Perfection Is A Mentality

The only way to achieve excellence in an organisation is to establish pioneer mentality among its employees. When no employee is ready to settle for mediocracy, it brings out the best in them. On top of it, in a collaborative environment, people develop visions. They aim for innovation, for breaking records, and not nearing them. They try to surpass their limits individually and as a team.

Brainstorming on challenges becomes a choice of action rather than an implied strategy. New ideas and approaches are then not only developed for the sake of problem-solving but also the betterment of previously existing problems. Perfection then becomes the root mentality for each individual within the organisation.

How to ensure that you are on the right track

For a manager, it is essential to ensure that he/she is on the right track. Care must be taken while promoting collaboration. It should come as a choice and not be enforced. A manager must ensure that they create a suitable environment that naturally promotes collaboration. When it comes as a need, then people will willingly do so. This ensures that every person is willingly sharing their expertise. This promotes individuals and teams from mediocracy to perfection. Excellence then follows on its own.

Take Away

From the scenarios mentioned above, it is evident that collaboration amongst employees is the key to achieve excellence within the organisation. In this process the company achieves perfection. By the time a perfect collaborative environment is attained, the organisation has filtered out its loop-holes, excelled its modus-operandi, cleared its vision and perfected its approach. Such an organisation is bound to lead the market and set examples for others to follow.