Forget about the time when decisions were made by only one professional – the owner, manager, or even team leader – who defined the best way. A centralized work structure no longer meets the needs that the market demands from companies. In order to get positive and long-term results, it is fundamental to adopt a collaborative culture that supports innovation.
A culture focused on the participation of professionals in search of a solution is the most appropriate path for those searching for an edge in a competitive market. First, there is the impact caused by technology, which is now used as a tool to envision new possibilities with the participation of all team members.
Although there is the designated figure of the decision maker, the process of finding the best path cannot be done with only one or two opinions. So, what is the relationship between implementation of a collaborative culture and innovation? How does the integration of the team in search of the same objective interfere with the Digital Transformation process of the company? Continue reading this article and find out!
What is collaborative culture?
Collaborative culture happens when collaboration among professionals from different levels, areas, or positions is constant. It does not mean helping a coworker in a specific situation. It is a bigger strategy: all employees are focused on attaining the best for the organization. Everybody participates in decisions and has their opinions considered.
The main idea behind this concept is that collective intelligence is much more efficient and creative than individual intelligence. By combining knowledge of the marketing department with the sales team, for example, it is possible to find better solutions to improve sales.
From this collaboration, new ideas can reshape processes and generate even more positive results.
It is also important to understand that collaboration happens in virtually all organizations. After all, each professional executes a job until the final result is reached. The difference, however, is when the participation of the employees increases a lot and is more active. The role is not only to do the job, but to find the best for the company.
Imagine an analyst has identified a flaw in a process in your company. But there is another problem: the error is not exactly in his area, it is the responsibility of a different team. In an organization that does not encourage exchange and collaboration, this professional would probably keep doing his job and leave the problem aside. In collaborative culture, it is part of his duty to help improve the company as a whole.
What are the best practices to promote this culture?
What should be done to promote collaborative culture within your organization?
Check out some tips!
Invest in technology that connects people
Besides thinking about productivity and efficiency in a team it is also important to consider the connection between these professionals. It could be by using an application to optimize message exchange or by using methods such as Kanban, to optimize the workflow. The objective is to increase the use of technology between professionals, fostering the exchange of information and ideas.
Implement changes from the top
There is no point in offering the best collaboration tools if, in practice, the company does not put collaborative culture into action. This change should start at the top of the company, with leaders and managers being the first ones to open their doors to listen to opinions, exchange ideas, and share plans, objectives, and decisions. It is easier to implement this culture with an active leadership.
Invest in transparency
Another important role that needs to be developed by the leaders of an organization is to invest in transparency practices. It is necessary to show, for example, the reasons for one decision or another. Or even to justify and present the factors that influenced the chosen path. Even if is not the suggestion of a team member, explain the reasons for the change.
Offer regular feedback
It is also the role of the leadership to offer regular feedback in relation to the work that is being done. That is the best way to show professionals that what they are doing is being observed. Even if it is constructive criticism, the employee will begin to value the interest of the company in his work, opinion, or even his performance.
How can collaborative culture benefit my business?
When collaborative culture is put into practice, the whole organization benefits from it. More than teamwork, this culture values cooperation, open dialogue and proximity between employees. With that, interpersonal relationships become richer, and at the same time, it strengthens everyone, making people feel more confident to come up with new ideas and develop skills. This integration allows the teams to embrace business knowledge and gives them capacity to create more assertive solutions, making collaborative culture an important strategic tool for companies.
One of the benefits of adopting collaborative culture is having more agility during crisis management. But it is much more than that, it is the search for solutions that help provide a better user experience.
By using a service management multiplatform or by adopting a new approach to a process, collaborative culture is a way to expand the possibilities of your company, allowing for a different point of view in searching for more relevant solutions for your business.
How does collaborative culture relate to innovation?
With the implementation of collaborative culture in a company, different ideas motivate the creation of new solutions and strategies for a specific problem. Innovation happens naturally, with the exchange of ideas allowing for the creation of more modern solutions to old problems and new possibilities of process optimization to be explored by all.
Collaborative culture also values the multidisciplinarity of skills as it allows for more integration and dialogue. A team member may be familiar with tools that can solve a problem in other areas. Professionals realize that they can collaborate not only by using their core skills, but also their knowledge in other areas, and soft skills. Soft skills are behavioral abilities, such as being communicative, knowing how to deal with people, and being proactive, among others.
Collaborative culture is the best method for those who want to create an inclusive and innovative work structure. It stems from insights generated by professionals from different backgrounds, knowledge, and areas that Digital Transformation can be a part of your business. By uniting different ideas, the tendency is that technology is implemented precisely within the organization.
Collaborative culture plays an important role for those looking for innovation. How about receiving more information about relevant topics for the future and development of your company? Subscribe to our newsletter and receive content like this regularly in your inbox!
