On Wednesday, October 19 (noon US Eastern) I will present a webinar called Smart Collaboration: Breaking Down Silos. Here’s the blurb for it:
On October 19, in a live, interactive Harvard Business Review webinar, Gardner will share findings from her research, discuss the obstacles that make collaboration so difficult, and provide insights into the benefits of collaboration. She will also offer powerful prescriptions for how leaders can foster collaboration, leverage technology, move to higher-end and higher-margin work, increase client satisfaction, and attract and retain top-caliber talent.
To discover why and how to truly improve collaboration in your organization—and reap the rewards—join Heidi Gardner and HBR on October 19.
Here is the link to register: http://www.webeventpro.com/1019161?m=HG Registration is free, and you do not need to be a current HBR subscriber. Please feel free to share this information with your colleagues who are interested in fostering collaboration in their organizations. With just over two weeks to go, we have nearly 1000 people signed up already!
Professional Collaboration: Hot Topics and Burning Questions 
Heidi,
Many thanks for sharing your expertise with us all. I will be looking to utilise much of what you have shared in our company.
Regards
John
@JWozniak16
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Hey … the webinar was very interesting and provided some hands-on advice for kicking off smart collaboration projects… It was interesting to learn about the correlation between collaboration and customer loyalty and inspired me to start exploring the hidden gems within our organization.
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What struck me in the webinar was how strong the business case is for collaboration – and thanks Heidi for making the case so clearly and backing it so strongly. What is interesting to me is how hard most organisations find it to actually reap the collaboration benefits you outlined so convincingly.
Many would-be collaborators set out with great intentions, and then crash on the rocks of negative group dynamics before they or their organisation really gets those multiplier effects of creativity, customer satisfaction and retention, and genuine value creation. You mentioned some of these barriers – for example blame or the assumption of blame – that arise when the people you are collaborating with are different.
It shows up as irritation with the very difference that is needed for collaboration to be creative. People start talking about how “they” (the different others on the would-be team) have their priorities/facts/ideas/culture wrong, or how “they” don’t really listen properly to “us.” Actually working in a monoculture can be attractive for the very reason that it is soothing to be amongst people who think and act in the same way.
In my experience, both as an entrepreneurial CEO and as a systems coach, would be collaborators across silos need to be held as they tackle these challenges. Many need to vent about the above frustrations before they open up to the value of those different perspectives, priorities and ways of being from the other silos. In essence, what we are dealing with is those emotions that are not in truth “left at the door” when people come to work – and this is in service of the shared agenda of improving the business.
The good news is that the relationship systems skills needed to collaborate in diverse teams can be learned. Leaders need these skills to grow their businesses and reap the diversity and collaboration dividends you articulated so clearly. I’m part of a global organisation dedicated to building greater Relationship Systems Intelligence amongst leaders and their teams, and it works.
Of course structure is just as important for the system to thrive – as you noted, if corporate culture and remuneration systems celebrate and reward only individual performance, you can kiss your collaboration dividends goodbye. I’ve been pleased to see how global professional services firms are ramping up the collective performance dimension of their remuneration structures. I see evidence of this leading to genuine business improvement, and the kind of real cross-silo customer value creation you spoke of. How strongly does your data back this impression?
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Heidi,
I appreciated your excellent presentation yesterday. You made a compelling case for smart collaboration as well indicated concrete ways to make it happen.
In this spirit of collaboration, let me share a couple of resources that, in my experience, help to foster smart and effective collaboration:
“Coaching Across Cultures” (my first book available in ten languages) – how to understand cultural differences that might derail cooperation and instead learn how to make the most of cultural differences, how to achieve unity in diversity for increased creativity, impact and purpose.
“Global Coaching” (my latest book) – how to leverage alternative disciplines and perspectives to effectively embrace today’s complexity.
I see this integrated coaching approach as complementary to your excellent work. In my 25-year of global coaching experience, I have seen how this approach helps to foster the smart collaboration and break the silos you eloquently spoke about.
I look forward to exchanging with you and possibly collaborating with you at some point!
Best wishes,
Philippe Rosinski
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