{"id":4974,"date":"2021-01-05T11:23:31","date_gmt":"2021-01-05T11:23:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/br-pt\/uncategorized\/why-the-future-of-collaboration-lies-in-our-humanity\/"},"modified":"2025-11-30T14:49:59","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T14:49:59","slug":"why-the-future-of-collaboration-lies-in-our-humanity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/br-pt\/desenvolvimento-de-lideranca\/why-the-future-of-collaboration-lies-in-our-humanity\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the future of collaboration lies in our humanity"},"content":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0 Hilary Harvey<\/a> and Tom Van Dyck<\/a>.<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that collaboration has become a challenge in recent times. The lack of face-to-face interaction, the onset of fatigue and feelings of isolation might well be taking their toll on our teams. And while it might have been easier to drum up a sense of \u2018we\u2019re all in this together\u2019 at the beginning of the COVID crisis, the initial burst of belonging has ebbed. We are now in the long haul.<\/p>\n

How do we create and sustain collaboration going forward? Is there a way to build trust across virtual workplaces? How can we create an environment that fosters partnership, collective purpose and innovation?<\/p>\n

To address the situation we invited TPCL\u2019s associate partner Hilary Harvey (UK) and managing partner Tom Van Dyck (Belgium) to a panel discussion. They considered not only how collaboration can work in the current climate but also how we can break new ground to tap into our greater collective potential.<\/p>\n

Collaboration is a personal experience<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hilary and Tom agreed that while we\u2019ve set up systems and software and processes to keep our teams connected and collaborating, it\u2019s our relationships \u2013 personal, team and inter-organisational \u2013 that will breathe life into our collaboration.<\/p>\n

Collaboration is not just about working together; it\u2019s about what it feels like. It\u2019s the enjoyment of a process in which you contribute and you get something back on a relational level.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m often having conversations with clients about how they feel isolated,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cThey know that they\u2019re part of a system but they feel very alone in it. And the combination of personal pressures and a mounting workload is becoming overwhelming for them, draining their ability to stay motivated and find energy. This is largely because they\u2019re not feeling a sense of collaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sustaining the feeling of collaboration<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the initial crisis response there was a realisation that hit leaders, particularly the non-senior leaders who were closer to delivery,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cThey realised that they needed to shift their focus to relationships, not just tasks and activity. Because it\u2019s a given that organisations will focus on tasks but it\u2019s not a given that they will look after people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Investing in team relationships is still an essential priority. The initial shock of the crisis awoke us to a need. But that need will only be answered if we continue to make relationships a prerogative.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is more important than the work itself,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cPeople need to feel they are part of something cohesive. They need to sense that together they are pulling cohesively to work on something larger than themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organisations have spent months building the mechanisms for collaboration. Now the challenge is to engage with our humanity. To connect to one another and to tackle the greater human issues we see around us.<\/p>\n

Collaboration cuts through to our humanity<\/strong><\/p>\n

For people to feel collaboration, they need to feel that they are included. And the pandemic has united us all in difficulty. There is an unprecedented, clear need to include everyone. And there is also an unprecedented awareness of each other\u2019s needs.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverybody, whatever your background, whatever your race, we\u2019re all affected in some way,\u201d says Tom. \u201cIn terms of inclusion, I\u2019ve never, ever lived anything like this that has affected us all globally. And I think it has awakened, or has the potential to awaken, our sense of humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is now an opportunity for organisations to work on a person to person, peer to peer level. That\u2019s the area we need connection. That\u2019s the level at which most of us are feeling a sense of loss. But there are other related facets we can address too.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question we\u2019re really asking is, \u2018What\u2019s the basic humanity that we want to see more of?\u2019\u201d says Hilary. \u201cBecause whether we\u2019re talking about the future of inclusion and diversity<\/u>\u00a0or collaboration, it\u2019s all getting at the same thing. It\u2019s all about our humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opportunities to do good are business opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n

Massive societal needs have emerged from the COVID crisis. And opportunities. Organisations now have a window to roll up their sleeves and make a real difference in the totally disrupted society that lies beyond their traditional remit.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re taking corporate social responsibility seriously, you can do more than visit a home for the elderly or deliver a 1,000 Euro check on a team day,\u201d says Tom. \u201cIf you\u2019re smart about what kind of CSR activities you could deploy, you can create a way to keep people together, working towards a common goal with a clear sense of purpose,\u201d<\/p>\n

This is an opportunity but it\u2019s also a necessity. For who will pull through if organisations don\u2019t see themselves as part of the solution? What will be the impact on the local economy, on our society, on the environment? This is what many emerging leaders are asking, leaders who want to feel part of the solution.<\/p>\n

\u2018Imagine if businesses didn\u2019t only consider a CSR strand but wove social responsibility into the way they do business,\u201d says Hilary. \u201cIf they can do this proactively, businesses are more likely to have a good reputation and are more likely to recruit emerging leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

So there are certain elements we have to consider: gender equality, employee wellbeing, the impact we have on our local and broader environments through our supply chain. If we don\u2019t uphold our social contracts, then the bottom line is we\u2019ll lose our best people and we won\u2019t be able to maintain our businesses or make money. But when we raise our sights, we\u2019ll find it easier to sustain collaboration, because it will be powered by a sense of purpose.<\/p>\n

\u201cSocial responsibility is an opportunity even if it moves us away from our core business,\u201d says Tom. \u201cBut if businesses are smart, I think there\u2019s always a way in which you can do good through your core business purpose, the reason you entered business in the first place.\u201d<\/p>\n

A collaborative wave of action<\/strong><\/p>\n

One way in which businesses have acted to respond to societal needs is off the back of the work of 23-year-old footballer Marcus Rashford<\/a>. His campaign to petition the UK government to keep providing free school meals to children during week-long term breaks did not swing the decision of parliament \u2013 but it did attract the action of businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt became this big wave of positive actions as more and more businesses signed up to step in to provide free meals,\u201d says Hilary \u201cAnd it\u2019s a beautiful example of one of the opportunities open right now to organisations. And it was all spearheaded by one young guy demonstrating basic humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is a need and an opportunity to tackle isolation on a societal level, to address education and to tackle hunger and poverty, even in the first world. And there are issues that are in our hands to change now.<\/p>\n

\u201cForget all the corporate speak and all 2030, 2040 long-term vision plans,\u201d says Tom. \u201cJust think: What is it that the people around me need? How could I make a difference? If we make these steps at a micro level today, a shift will occur. As Obama said, \u2018A change is brought about because ordinary people do extraordinary things.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

We won\u2019t bring back a sense of collaboration just by finding ways to work together. We need to access a depth of humanity that defines what we are working towards<\/em>. That, along with our renewed investment in relationships, is what will inspire us to extraordinary action. Our organisations and teams will no longer be siloed off by circumstance. Instead, we will be drawn together to change it.<\/p>\n

For more insight on organisational opportunities in the current climate make sure you don\u2019t miss Hilary and Tom\u2019s discussion on Diversity and inclusion \u2013 the present and future<\/u>. Or drop us a note to foster \u2018collaborative waves\u2019.<\/em><\/p>\n

@copyright TPCL (2021)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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