One of the qualities of critical thinkers, particularly in the business space, is to apply creative thinking either to solve business problems or identify opportunities. This ability to “reject standardized formats for problem solving” can be of great benefit, particularly during unpredictable times.
To say that 2020 brought about serious challenges to business leaders would be an understatement. From developing business continuity plans to doing a complete overhaul of their business model, these individuals have had to channel their ability to respond quickly, be agile, be resourceful and be confident in their decisions.
With over 85% of executives attributing the lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures, many leaders have looked at people-focused approaches to solve current challenges.
This brings us to the objective of this blog: to examine how some leaders used collaboration as an engine to maintain productivity, drive employee engagement and boost employee morale.
How Seven Business Leaders Used Collaboration as a Force for Change
While it would seem that using collaboration as a tool for optimizing business operations and driving engagement would be similar across different industries or companies, an article by Forbes sheds light on the different approaches business executives used to achieve the same goal.
Here are some of the key strategies applied to date:
Tools-Based Approach:
- At Uassist.ME, the development and use of a mood tracking tool to “proactively address employee anxieties and concerns,” and the regular use of feedback tools promoted open dialog and fostered a support system, according to Alfredo Atanacio, Cofounder.
- According to Tim Barber, Cofounder of Growth Sites, automating work-related updates or communications through tools such as Notion has led to employees using messengers and other communication tools for social interaction.
- In the words of Kelly Knight, President and Integrator of EOS Worldwide, “we used what is called the Vision/Traction Organizer at EOS—a simple, practical tool that keeps us all laser-focused on the vision of our organization and our plans to gain traction towards achieving it.” Adopting this tool helped teams align priorities as well as identify synergies.
- James Henry, Chief Technology Officer at PureWeb, credits regularly scheduled team huddles and social events or sessions through the use of video conferencing tools as the reason why teams stayed connected.
Culture-Focused Approach:
- Using culture as the mechanism for change, leaders such as Don Sharpe at Coolfire put their plans in motion by launching “programs aimed at keeping employees physically and mentally healthy,” on top of doing an overhaul to employee communications.
- With the end-goal of increasing social interactions, Brenda Schmidt (CEO of Coplex) and team ramped efforts to boost the number of virtual events and non-work related Slack channels.
Purpose-Driven Approach:
- Sabrina Bow, Ed. D., the Executive Director and Cofounder of Lumen Network, took a more holistic approach by “putting the spotlight on the need for robust tools and solid organizational processes.” This included optimizing meeting-related processes, such as maintaining meeting time slots and sending detailed agendas beforehand.
For more information on the significance of fostering a strong culture in the workplace, please click here.
