INSIGHTS | CORENTUS FIRST FRIDAY with a THOUGHT LEADER SERIES

Heidi Gardner  
Smarter Collaboration

Heidi Gardner shows how true collaboration between individuals and teams can boost margins, drive client loyalty, and improve talent retention. Heidi shared her insights with us and our Community of Professionals Advancing Team Effectiveness during our First Friday with a Thought Leader event.

for you from Heidi & Corentus

About Heidi Gardner
Heidi K. Gardner, Ph.D., is a former McKinsey consultant and Harvard Business School professor now lecturing at Harvard Law School. Named by Thinkers 50 as a Next Generation Business Guru, she has spent over a decade conducting in-depth studies of numerous global professional service firms. Her research with clients and the empirical results of her studies demonstrate clearly and convincingly that collaboration pays, for both professionals and their firms.

Her book “Smart Collaboration: How Professionals and Their Firms Succeed by Breaking Down Silos” is a Washington Post bestseller, and altogether, she has authored (or co-authored) more than 100 books, chapters, case studies, and articles. Her research received the Academy of Management’s prize for Outstanding Practical Implications for Management and has been selected three times for Harvard Business Review’s “best of” collections.

“The Business Imperative for Smarter Collaboration” (1:18)
Heidi discusses empirical data on collaboration that demonstrates smarter collaboration has a significant positive impact on business performance.

“Competence Trust and Character Trust” (1:15)
This clip explains competence trust and character trust, both of which need to be present in order to develop smarter collaboration.

KEY INSIGHTS | Smarter Collaboration

  • Benefits of Effective Collaboration: Using a "twin study" analogy with organizational data, Heidi illustrated the advantages of a collaborative work style. “Twin 2,” representing a highly collaborative individual, demonstrated benefits such as: 

    •  Access to a broader range of information, resources, and perspectives. 

    •  Increased visibility and opportunities for career growth. 

    • Development of strong trust networks and reputation within the organization.
      Enhanced self-awareness through interactions with diverse individuals. 

  • Risks of Over-Commitment: The discussion acknowledged the dangers of over-collaboration, leading to over-commitment and burnout. Factors contributing to over-commitment included: 

  •  Individual tendencies: Fear of disappointing others, desire to please, FOMO (fear of missing out), seeking external validation. 

  • Organizational factors: Poor leadership, lack of clear priorities from the top, "peanut-buttering" of underrepresented individuals across numerous projects.

    "Senior women tend to get peanut buttered, spread way too thin across too many different areas." - Heidi Gardner
     

  • Strategies to Combat Over-Commitment: Attendees and Heidi brainstormed strategies to mitigate over-commitment:
     

  • Teamwork: Utilizing teams to share workload and opportunities.
     

  • Intentional Collaboration: Starting with the end in mind to identify the necessity of collaboration and choose partners strategically.
     

  • Boundary Setting: Learning to say "no" and developing a scorecard to evaluate opportunities against personal priorities.
     

  • Building a Bench: Developing other team members to share responsibilities and provide fresh perspectives.
     

  • Recognizing and Rewarding Contributions: Acknowledging both financial and non-financial rewards to incentivize collaboration.
     

  • Notable Takeaways:
    Collaboration, when done strategically, is essential for success in complex environments.
     

    • The characteristics of “Twin 2” offer a blueprint for effective collaborative behavior.
       

    • Organizations and individuals need to be mindful of over-commitment and implement strategies for sustainable collaboration.

"Smarter collaboration arises from the clash of two trends...specialized expertise and complex problems."

- Heidi Gardner  

Smarter Collaboration, By Heidi Gardner

 

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