INSSIGGHTTEMPLOYEE MAGAZINE#07 JUNE 2016

OUTSIDE PERSPECTIVE

TEAR DOWN THE SILOSOne of the biggest barriers to cross-organisational collaboration can be a

company’s incentive structure, according to leading experts. However, that can –and must – be changed.

BY MICHAEL ROTHENBORG JUNE 2016

“Riv Pyramiderna”, meaning tear down the pyramids inSwedish, was the title of a bestselling management bookback in the 1980s. The author, Jan Carlzon, was the CEO ofSAS, and his philosophy sparked an era of growth for him and theScandinavian airline.

The era did not last, but not because Carlzon was wrong about tearingdown pyramid organisations.

Recent research and experience show that traditional hierarchies incomplex international companies fail to promote inter-unit collaboration.

“And that is far from optimal, because collaboration and teamwork areexcellent tools for boosting revenue,” says Jeppe Vilstrup Hansgaard, apartner at the Danish advisory company Innovisor.

Jeppe Hansgaard, Partner, Innovisor

Innovisor has won customers like Novo Nordisk, Lego, Maersk, Caterpillarand Madison Square Garden by specialising in network analysis – aneffective means of getting employees – and managers – to collaborateacross units, and a method described and endorsed by the HarvardBusiness Review.

http://insight.ramboll.comhttp://insight.ramboll.com/mailto:mrot@ramboll.dk

Based on Innovisor research, a recent article in the magazine concludedthat law firms earn more revenue when they promote teamwork ratherthan reward individuals.

This is because the firm’s lone wolves may succeed in netting a lot ofclients and thus personal bonuses, but at the expense of the others – andthe total revenue. In other words, they are cannibalising the rest of thebusiness.

“That’s why you must treat your lone wolves as black sheep,” says JeppeHansgaard.

“And there’s no research to suggest that the link between teamwork andrevenue should be any different in a big, complex internationalorganisation like Ramboll,” he adds.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM JEPPE HANSGAARD

It’s not about you!Drop your alpha male attitudeand start truly listening to yourcolleagues. You will probablylearn from it.

Help your colleaguesconnect!If you think two of yourcolleagues could benefit fromconnecting, then connectthem.

Be transparent!Share what you know, soeverybody has access to yourknowledge and information.

Always ask for help!Typically only one-third ofemployees ask for help, whiletwo-thirds are always willing tohelp. We can grow so muchsmarter and avoid “reinventingthe wheel”, if we just ask forhelp. Asking for help is not asign of weakness!

Insight has invited five Ramboll employees with differentbackgrounds and expertise to discuss and share their experience withcollaboration:

Curiosity has to be nurturedGry Guldberg, Business Manager at Ramboll Management Consulting,agrees:

“It’s a barrier if an organisation inadequately endorses collaborationacross units. At Ramboll, for example, we have the new collaborationaward coming up soon, which is very, very good. However, someRamboll employees have traditionally received a lot of credit for winningprojects for their own business units rather than for helping with projectsrun by other units,” says Gry Guldberg.

https://hbr.org/2015/03/when-senior-managers-wont-collaborate

Gry Guldberg, Business Manager at Ramboll Management Consulting

Both Gry Guldberg and Jeppe Hansgaard warn that having a companywith many strong professionals in their own fields can reinforce theunwanted effects of such an incentive structure.

“At Ramboll, for example, we have a lot of nerds. I’m a nerd myself,immersed in organisational facilitation, processes and dialogue. Most ofus, though, are also curious about other professional fields – and thatcuriosity has to be nurtured,” says Gry Guldberg.

Management can encourage that curiosity – and thus ensure thecompany gets more and bigger projects – by sending a clear signal thatinter-unit collaboration is vital. Making it a key performance indicator foremployees and managers alike is one way of achieving this, say GryGuldberg and Jeppe Hansgaard.

Get the conclusions from your colleagues:

Managers should not be afraidInnovisor specialises in analysing which employees in an organisationalready collaborate – or simply network – with people from other units.The consulting company then presents tools that management can useto encourage and reward those individuals and increase the likelihood ofthe One Company culture’s spreading throughout the organisation.

However, what if some managers think that this collaboration businesssounds a little too 1970s? Or fear that collaborating might lower theirown units’ performance?

“Then they don’t trust their employees or themselves enough – or areafraid to lose power. Or all three,” says Jeppe Hansgaard.

“Managers’ primary task, really, is to ensure that they hire the rightpeople for the jobs. Not the highly skilled engineer, but the highly skilledengineer that can – and would love to – collaborate across disciplines andunits,” he elaborates.

Another key managerial task is to think more about the company as awhole than about one’s own unit. Otherwise, people wind up practisingthe very silo thinking that Ramboll’s consultants often advise theircustomers to avoid.

“If too many managers think in silos, sooner or later the company’sperformance will be undermined,” says Jeppe Hansgaard.

If that happens, tearing down pyramids may no longer be an option. Norsilos, for that matter. Then the whole company is at risk of collapsing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM GRY GULDBERG

Know the task – but not theresultClarifying expectations abouthow to solve the task jointlyand thus generate synergy willenhance your collaboration.Also, avoid having to defineand nail down the result fromthe outset, but rather be opento what you can createtogether.

Be generousShare your knowledge and beaware of how to communicatewith someone with anotherprofessional background thanyours. Leave some extra spacefor meeting andcommunication, particularly atthe outset – and be generousabout who you are.

Be curiousBe curious about the peopleyou work with. Listen carefullyand ask the questions neededto understand theirprofessional contribution andperspective. Try to suspendyour opinions andpreconceptions.

Define the processDefine your working processand flow, and create clearmilestones and gateways thatlet you see and celebrate theprogression of your work.

Have self-awarenessBe aware of your own blindspots, principles, professionalstrengths and knowledge.These can hinder co-creationand collaboration if you fail tosee the synergy and innovationpotential – purely because ofyourself!

TEAR DOWN THE SILOSKEY TAKEAWAYS FROM JEPPE HANSGAARDKEY TAKEAWAYS FROM GRY GULDBERG