Culture and Collaboration – Challenging the Status Quo
Collaboration Reimagined: From Elusive Ideal to Organizational Competency
In complex systems, behavior and performance are direct expressions of structural design. This principle applies seamlessly to organizations, social systems whose architecture is shaped not by rules, policies, and incentives, but by culture, the invisible backbone that governs interaction, decision-making, and collective attention.
Culture’s influence on organizational performance is profound and undeniable. Yet for the purpose of this discussion, let us momentarily set that aside and focus on a specific cultural expression: collaboration.
Often celebrated as a mindset, collaboration emerges when individuals voluntarily share expertise, ideas, and experiences, transcending departmental, hierarchical, and even organizational boundaries. It is an altruistic act, driven by empathy, intrinsic motivation, and a shared purpose.
Many organizations proudly declare collaboration as a core value. Yet in practice, genuine collaboration remains elusive. The proclaimed mindset lacks self-sustainability, requiring constant reinforcement from leadership. When collaboration is framed merely as a value or mindset, its absence becomes difficult to address systematically.
This leads to fragmented interventions, team-building workshops, shared workspaces, and collaboration software that, while helpful, do not produce enduring change.
This calls for a shift in perspective.
Collaboration Cannot Be Mandated
Attempts to enforce collaboration will backfire, resulting in either superficial compliance or a communication breakdown.
Based on experience, we assert that most individuals are open to collaboration, not necessarily within formal teams, but in broader, informal contexts.
This distinction is critical: while teams require collaboration to function, collaboration itself is not confined to team structures.
Consider the example of a talented designer at an ad agency who refused to collaborate, fearing that sharing his expertise would erode his competitive edge. This mindset, though counterproductive, is not uncommon and underscores the deeper barriers to collaboration.
Three Core Barriers to Collaboration
- Lack of Knowledge – Individuals may not understand what collaboration actually entails, how to collaborate effectively, or recognize the benefit.
- Cultural Resistance – Organizational cultures that discourage openness, transparency, or mutual respect inhibit collaboration.
- Environmental Constraints – Systems and structures, particularly performance management frameworks, can actively undermine collaborative behavior.
These insights lead us to redefine collaboration, not as a value or mindset, but as a competency encompassing behavior, knowledge, and process.
This reframing allows for targeted development and measurable progress.
Fear: The Silent Saboteur
At the heart of collaboration failure lies fear, fear of vulnerability, of losing status, of underperforming. Cultural misunderstandings often lead organizations to rely on rigid rules and policies, which inadvertently foster fear and compliance rather than trust and initiative.
Organizations that truly understand their culture where shared values align with corporate principles and a collective vision are better positioned to foster collaboration. Values, like transparency and respect, enable it.
Traits, such as individualism and zero-sum competition, obstruct it.
Yet even a healthy culture is not enough.
The Performance Management Paradox
Strategic and operational environments can be equally obstructive. Chief among these is the KPI-driven performance management system, especially when linked to compensation. Such systems breed internal competition, discourage knowledge sharing, and reinforce fear, fear of missing targets, losing bonuses, or facing career stagnation.
Collaboration cannot be incentivized through KPIs. Targets designed to “foster” collaboration inevitably fail, as they reduce a relational dynamic to a transactional metric.
Building Collaborative Competency
Effective collaboration requires deliberate cultivation of:
- An understanding that sharing knowledge benefits all
- A commitment to truthfulness and psychological safety
- Individual accountability for contributions
- Social awareness and empathy
Training and mentorship are pivotal here. A robust mentoring culture, spanning departments and hierarchies, can serve as a powerful catalyst for collaboration.
While this view may challenge conventional wisdom, we maintain that a dynamic, self-sustaining collaborative environment is not a luxury; it is a foundational pillar of any high-performance, future-ready organization.