I recently completed a workshop for an International company (15,000 employees or so). As much as it was an honor to work for them, I was amazed at how similar it was to a company of 10. After all of these years I am really starting to believe all companies suffer the same kind of struggles, some are just a little more sophisticated than others.
The biggest thing I took away from this experience was that it seems like all my client’s want the same thing”¦Synergy. Defined as”¦
syn·er·gy (sÄn”²É™r-jÄ“) n. pl. syn·er·gies
1. The interaction of two or more agents or forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects.
2. Cooperative interaction among groups, especially among the acquired subsidiaries or merged parts of a corporation, that creates an enhanced combined effect.
Does your organization/TEAM have it?”¦ combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects”¦Cooperative interaction among groups
Sound familiar? Or do you have a lot of individuals working in silos trying to get their work done and not keeping an eye on the big picture? It takes a shared vision, dialogue, and behind every great communicating TEAM, terrific “listening” skills to accomplish synergy.
There are hundreds of books written on this. I have a few staples that I always bring to the party when training on synergy!
- Lencioni’s Five Dysfunctions
- Crucial Conversations
- Leadership and Self Deceptions, and recently added
- Brene Brown because of her research on Shame and the impact it makes on a human being in the workplace.
I love working my day and a half workshops with companies that choose to be more and have decided to not settle for the status quo. I like the beginning of the events the most! Setting the intention, building a container of trust, and getting people out of their heads and into their hearts. This is the moment of truth, eliminating the artificial harmony, creating a sense of urgency and building trust. It’s hard work!
Organizations that make the commitment to c-h-a-n-g-e their culture for the sake of synergy are always surprised at how much work is involved. Especially the owners and CEO’s who need to participate as well!