Inter-Organizational Collaboration Practices

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

Leadership Dynamics in GCCs: A Path to Collaboration Having worked with Global Capability Centres (GCCs) in India for many years, I've witnessed the intricate dance between parent organization leadership and GCC leadership. Despite commendable efforts in enhancing communication, transparency, and leadership development, challenges persist. Here are some tips to tackle these issues head-on. 1️⃣ Establish Clear Roles and Decision-Making Processes: Clearly define roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes. Set boundaries and document decision-making to reduce potential political conflicts. 2️⃣ Establish Joint Governance Mechanisms: Create joint committees or steering groups involving leaders from both sides. Regular leadership meetings can align priorities, discuss challenges, and foster collaboration, minimizing politics driven by divergent interests. 3️⃣ Foster One Team Mindset: Promote a "one team" mindset, emphasizing unity. Encourage shared goals, values, and belonging. Organize joint initiatives and team-building activities to bring leaders together, fostering collaboration and relationship building. 4️⃣ Mediate Conflict and Promote Mediation Skills: Encourage mediation to resolve conflicts promptly. Invest in building mediation skills among leaders and provide access to external mediators when needed. Mediation can find win-win solutions and rebuild trust. 5️⃣ Foster Mutual Respect and Understanding: Create an environment of mutual respect and cultural understanding. Encourage leaders to learn about each other's cultural nuances, communication styles, and decision-making frameworks to reduce biases and misunderstandings. 6️⃣ Joint Strategic Planning Sessions: Conduct joint strategic planning sessions for the development and review of long-term plans. This ensures that the strategies align with the overall objectives of the organization and provides a forum for collaboration. 7️⃣ Establish a Liaison Role: Appoint a liaison or relationship manager who can act as a bridge between the leadership in the parent organization and the GCC. This individual can facilitate communication and address concerns. 8️⃣ Leadership Exchange Programs: Implement leadership exchange programs where executives from the parent organization and the GCC spend time working in each other's environments to gain a better understanding of each other's challenges and perspectives. Addressing these suggestions requires a joint commitment to continuous improvement. By implementing these measures, parent organizations and GCC leadership can forge a more harmonious relationship, minimizing political dynamics and fostering true collaboration. Let's build bridges, not barriers. #LeadershipDevelopment #GlobalCollaboration #GCCLeadership #OneTeamMindset What do you think Pradyumn Lavaniya, Murali Nayak, Vanaja Amireddy? I'd love to hear your views on these topics.

Many still believe that collaboration grows naturally as people work together.   It doesn’t. It grows when organizations 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Greg Pryor, co-editor of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, calls this capability “social agility”, the speed at which individuals learn to navigate new networks. His research shows that a few people, the “𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬”, can replicate the network of a top performer 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 than their peers. We applied this insight in our 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮, described in my chapter of the book. By combining network analytics with peer learning, we helped colleagues practice relationship building intentionally, visibly, and across boundaries. Here’s how: 1️⃣ We identified 𝐂𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐬 — people already trusted across the network — and supported them to mentor others. 2️⃣ We made skills and interests visible to all, creating an internal marketplace for collaboration. 3️⃣ We helped boundary spanners see their network so that they could build bridges across silos faster. ➡️ The result: a 10𝐱 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬-𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 and faster learning cycles across 13,000 employees. What’s one practice you’ve seen that helps people connect faster and perform better together? 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 (𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴)

Collaboration across functions is hard. Most collaboration efforts fall flat because they feel forced and disconnected from 'real' business outcomes. A well-designed Strategic Collaboration Program (SCP) fixes that. Here’s how to go about it: 1. Start with Intention – Collaboration isn’t the goal; it’s a means to a strategic outcome. Get clear on what success looks like. 2. Create Shared Frameworks – Give teams a common language, decision-making tools, and structured ways to work through complexity together. Show them 𝘩𝘰𝘸. 3. Find the Connectors – Every organization has people who are natural bridge-builders between teams. Train them in scalable, repeatable methods that make collaboration easier. 4. Balance Flexibility & Discipline – Collaboration works best when there’s enough structure to guide it and enough space for creativity. 5. Make it Actionable – Collaboration without execution is just a nice-to-have conversation. Tie it to real business challenges and impact. 6. Embed It – Make collaboration a habit by weaving it into leadership behaviors, performance metrics, and everyday work. Collaboration is about making it easier for people to solve meaningful problems together. Where do you see collaboration getting stuck in your org? What are some things that have or haven’t worked? Please let us know in the comments!