Tips For Building A Collaborative Workspace

Too often, I’ve been in a meeting where everyone agreed collaboration was essential—yet when it came to execution, things stalled. Silos persisted, friction rose, and progress felt painfully slow. A recent Harvard Business Review article highlights a frustrating truth: even the best-intentioned leaders struggle to work across functions. Why? Because traditional leadership development focuses on vertical leadership (managing teams) rather than lateral leadership (influencing peers across the business). The best cross-functional leaders operate differently. They don’t just lead their teams—they master LATERAL AGILITY: the ability to move side to side, collaborate effectively, and drive results without authority. The article suggests three strategies on how to do this: (1) Think Enterprise-First. Instead of fighting for their department, top leaders prioritize company-wide success. They ask: “What does the business need from our collaboration?” rather than “How does this benefit my team?” (2) Use "Paradoxical Questions" to Avoid Stalemates. Instead of arguing over priorities, they find a way to win together by asking: “How can we achieve my objective AND help you meet yours?” This shifts the conversation from turf battles to solutions. (3) “Make Purple” Instead of Pushing a Plan. One leader in the article put it best: “I bring red, you bring blue, and together we create purple.” The best collaborators don’t show up with a fully baked plan—they co-create with others to build trust and alignment. In my research, I’ve found that curiosity is so helpful in breaking down silos. Leaders who ask more questions—genuinely, not just performatively—build deeper trust, uncover hidden constraints, and unlock creative solutions. - Instead of assuming resistance, ask: “What constraints are you facing?” - Instead of pushing a plan, ask: “How might we build this together?” - Instead of guarding your function’s priorities, ask: “What’s the bigger picture we’re missing?” Great collaboration isn’t about power—it’s about perspective. And the leaders who master it create workplaces where innovation thrives. Which of these strategies resonates with you most? #collaboration #leadership #learning #skills https://lnkd.in/esC4cfjS

A top-tier professional services firm we advised had decided 4 years earlier to ditch its sector-based strategy (mostly for political reasons – a long story). Since then, clients were increasingly dissatisfied with generic advice, partners felt disconnected from their “community” of like-minded peers, the firm lost its edge in generating eye-catching thought leadership, and the firm was losing market share. Ouch. The challenge underscored a key lesson: success in PSFs demands engaging with clients on the dimension they care about – how to win in their own industry. Inside the firm, this requires true cross-silo collaboration. We worked with leaders to re-envision their sector strategy and implement process changes, leadership changes, and skill development to successfully relaunch. Here are five essentials to build true cross-silo collaboration, to serve sector-specific needs: 1. Appoint sector heads who can actually lead. Industry expertise should be a given. Sector heads need to shape the strategy, motivate peers and hold them accountable, and engage with the market.  2. Create community. Sector leaders should organize regular, dual-purpose interactions to (1) expand/build knowledge of industry trends and client needs while (2) enhancing bonds and trust between community members. Get people involved – don’t drone on with “updates” but rather spark debates, ask Associates to do mini-presentations, have fun. 3. Embrace a matrix. Practice groups remain essential units for innovation and building technical expertise. Sector leads need to work directly with peer practice group leaders to create an integrated strategy and product offerings that address what the market needs. 4. Create shared goals. Align the sector and practice groups on shared objectives and metrics that reward collaboration. For example, instead of solely incentivizing individual sales, focus on overall client satisfaction and revenue growth. We explore these ideas in our HBR article “Performance Management Shouldn't Kill Collaboration.” 5. Celebrate collaborative success – and stop heroizing individuals. Recognize and reward examples of effective cross-silo collaboration (rewards don’t have to be money – we find that creative prizes can go a long way). Highlight team success stories to inspire others to break down silos and generate real innovation. 💡 Your turn: How has your organization tackled the challenge of aligning teams for sector success? Share your thoughts below. (And stay tuned for our next post on how to overcome barriers to sector collaboration – grounded in Chapter 7 of our best-selling book "Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work.") #SmarterCollaboration #Sectors

The workplace change process isn’t just about redesigning space; it’s about using the process to redesign how people connect. The discovery process for workplace change is an opportunity to: 🔥 Build Empathy – Employees share experiences about what they need to do their best work, wherever they are working. 🔥 Drive Innovation – Employees engage in conversations about improving systems and processes, which can lead to reduced friction and improved productivity. 🔥 Strengthen Culture – A workplace designed with employees leads to stronger engagement and ownership of the resulting space. When organizations treat workplace change as a dialogue rather than a directive, they create spaces that don’t just house people—they support them. The process itself becomes a tool for building empathy, driving innovation, strengthening culture, and shaping a workplace that reflects how people actually work today. I recently read a great piece by Eoin Higgins on the rise of hospitality-like workplace amenities. He made key points I want to expand on—because employees, not designers, architects, facilities teams, or HR, should define what best serves them. To engage employees, try this structured discussion in small groups (3-4 people). Each question gets 8 minutes (total of 24 minutes). Have participants write their answers silently for one minute, then take turns sharing (1 minute each). The group selects a top idea from each person’s list to report out. Active Contribution vs. Passive Consumption – What ways of working encourage shared ownership of work, policies, processes, technology, and space? Friction as Meaningful Work – Oliver Burkeman suggests challenges create meaning. If friction were seen as valuable rather than something to eliminate, what would you want more (or less) of in your work? Engagement Beyond Perks – True engagement comes from purpose and shared endeavor. How do you connect with our organization’s purpose and others? What would improve engagement for you? These discussions will inform design decisions and foster ownership of outcomes. Research shows early employee participation increases adoption and support of workplace changes - and also builds connections, strengthening culture. Caveat: Don’t ask if you won’t listen—nothing frustrates employees more. Images by Josef Chalat of people sitting in a circle having a conversation (illustration of a facilitation method called "fishbowl").