Editor's view, Inside Track, June 2010
A real need for global collaboration
The Governor of the Bank of England recently made headlines by endorsing the coalition government’s plans for £6bn cuts in this financial year. But Mervyn King’s message was deeper than politics as he talked about the urgent need for global cooperation:
“We need to balance demand around the world economy so as not to end up with a downturn in the world economy … the real need is world rebalancing measures.” This, he said, could only be achieved by working together on a global scale.
This theme of world cooperation is timely, as the coalition government discovers just how much it depends on each side being willing to sacrifice cherished policies and principles for a larger goal. It also echoes the priority our clients give to the need for collaboration, as essential to achieve more innovation, better decisions, and more effective engagement, systems and processes.
Collaboration is easy to understand, but hard to do. Everyone signs up to it, but in reality there are always a thousand reasons why it comes more naturally to work with your immediate team than the one next door, or on another site. It also taps into the natural competitiveness and power dynamics in any group. We all want what we want, and we often focus on doing whatever we can do get it, rather than making personal sacrifices for the sake of a shared ambition.
What does this mean for your business? You could try asking these questions:
- Do you all have a shared vision of the strategy? Ask people to describe it in their own words. You could be surprised how much the versions differ.
- What is pulling you away from the shared commitment you have all made to the success of the business? An honest answer to this question from each key individual could be the basis of a fundamental rethink about how to re-energise the business and make it work for everyone.
- Has everyone bought into the vision and the strategy? How do you know? Even when times are tough, people will retain commitment to a business they have helped to shape.
Advancing your own agenda might win you a few battles. But, as Mervyn King made clear, it won’t win the campaign. Real collaboration can sometimes mean letting go, not lobbying.
