The benefits of great collaboration
The value of getting on well with everyone is huge.
How would your organisation benefit if there were fewer rows, clashes, frayed tempers? Destructive conflict doesn’t solve problems – it contributes to them.
Benefits that result from great communication and collaboration might include:
• Better internal decision making
• Solving problems and rapid innovation
• More efficient working
• Influencing the FD to get that extra resource
• Enhanced job satisfaction
• Improved employee retention
• Focusing the team on the vision of the business
• Persuading the MD to hold on planned cutbacks
• Winning over the Board with a new marketing strategy
• Selling an idea to senior decision makers
• Fewer misunderstandings/more productive meetings
• Stronger cross-functional working between teams.
Collaborative leaders are open to input, different viewpoints and constructive debate. So who do people think of as great collaborators?
Barack Obama is acknowledged as being an excellent collaborator.
As President of the USA, he was able to motivate the different departments at the White House to work together and cooperate fully to drive through policies. On a personal level, Obama has a reputation for staying calm and seeking a collaborative solution to issues, rather than trying to force through a resolution.
Alessandro Carlucci, Brazil’s Natura Cosmeticos CEO, instigated a comprehensive ‘engagement process’ to promote a collaborative mindset and help win the firm a top spot on Fortune’s list of best companies for leaders.
Each leader in the firm had to disclose some personal life history, showing their vulnerability and including examples of failures, proving that they don’t have all the answers. Business grew by 21% in 2010, and the collaborative mindset at the top cascaded down to the rest of the organisation.
“Apple look to employ wicked people, smart people, people who don’t care who gets the credit, who appreciate different points of view, share ideas and are happy for others to push the idea further and get the credit for it. The magic is in the collaboration.”
— Tim Cook, CEO at Apple
It’s all about people
So all of us should aim to be great collaborators, striving to get on with and engage with anyone and everyone. But that doesn’t mean walking around holding hands and dancing off into the sunset of eternal happiness.
I mean there must be a sensible, professional, effective way to get on with, cooperate with, collaborate with people – while not necessarily liking everyone.
Having worked for twenty-five years with businesses, schools and charities, delivering hundreds of sessions, I have observed:
• 100% of employees are people
• 100% of colleagues are people
• 100% of clients are people.
‘What’s the best thing about your job?’
When I go into an organisation, there is one question I ask everyone I meet: ‘What’s the best thing about your job?’ And in the top three answers is always ‘The people’.
When I go into an organisation and ask everyone I meet, ‘What’s the worst thing about your job?’, in the top three answers is always (yes, you know what’s coming) ‘The people’.
It doesn’t really matter how great your research, product or marketing is.
Ultimately the success of any organisation is pretty much down to people interacting with people. If you don’t get on with people, you won’t get on in business.
If you can’t collaborate with people, you won’t have a business. In today’s fast-changing global environment, it’s vital to get people working together seamlessly across departments, functions and geographic boundaries.
And that’s precisely what I do. I work with organisations, businesses, companies, charities, schools, getting teams functioning more effectively to improve performance and increase profit.
The 10 business benefits of great collaboration
1. Increased productivity and efficiency
Teams coordinate better, share workloads, reduce duplicated effort, and solve problems faster. This means more gets done with less wasted time and resources.
2. Greater innovation and creativity
Bringing different perspectives and expertise together generates fresh ideas, encourages experimentation, and helps businesses develop better products, services, and solutions.
3. Better communication and fewer mistakes
Open communication ensures people understand priorities, responsibilities, and expectations. This reduces misunderstandings, costly errors, and unnecessary rework.
4. Higher employee engagement and morale
People who feel listened to, trusted, and supported are more likely to feel valued, motivated, and committed to their work.
5. Improved employee retention
A positive, collaborative culture strengthens relationships, builds belonging, and can reduce staff turnover and the costs of recruiting and training replacements.
6. Stronger decision-making
Collaboration brings together different experiences and specialist knowledge, helping leaders identify risks, challenge assumptions, and make better-informed decisions.
7. Faster problem-solving and delivery
Teams can resolve obstacles collectively, make decisions more quickly, and keep projects moving, helping the business respond faster to changing demands.
8. Better customer experience
When departments work together, customers receive more consistent service, faster responses, and solutions that address their needs across the whole customer journey.
9. Reduced costs and improved profitability
Less duplication, fewer errors, better use of skills, and more efficient processes can lower operating costs and improve profit margins.
10. Stronger competitive advantage
Collaborative businesses can adapt more effectively, respond to market changes, deliver value sooner, and build a culture that supports long-term growth.
How collaboration translates into business results
Collaboration improves Productivity - which can lead to more output per employee
Collaboration improves Innovation - which can lead to new revenue opportunitiesmore
Collaboration improves Communication - which can lead to fewer errors and lower costs
Collaboration improves Employee engagement - which can lead to better retention and performance
Collaboration improves Customer service - which can lead to higher satisfaction and loyalty
Collaboration improves Decision-making - which can lead to reduced risk and better outcomes
Collaboration improves Cross-team working - which can lead to faster project delivery
How can a business measure the benefits?
To demonstrate the commercial value of collaboration, you can track metrics such as:
· Productivity: output per employee and time spent on tasks.
· Financial performance: cost per project, operating costs, and profit margins.
· Innovation: new ideas implemented and time to market.
· Employee experience: engagement scores, retention rates, and absenteeism.
· Customer outcomes: satisfaction scores, complaints, and repeat business.
· Delivery: project completion times and deadlines met.
Final Thought
The biggest business benefit
Ultimately, great collaboration helps a business get the best out of its people to achieve better results together than they could individually.
It connects individual effort to shared goals, turning better teamwork into measurable business value: increased productivity, lower costs, happier employees, more satisfied customers, and sustainable growth.
The key is that collaboration must be purposeful.
Too many meetings or unclear responsibilities can slow people down, so the goal is to make working together easier, more focused, and more effective.
