Within an organization, self-authorized expansions of authority and/or defending against encroachment are leading causes of inefficiency, waste of resources and loss of profits in organizations. It is our guess that as much as 20% of people’s, department’s and division’s time and resources are wasted engaging in the politics of limits – offense and defense. Our theory is subjective, but based on decades of experience. Turf issues are also a prime catalyst causing diminished morale leading to lowered productivity.
They happen at every level – from not providing expertise to an area that needs it, to two division heads building two warehouses where one will do.
The solution to this is leadership. It is our belief that one of the top priorities of leadership, from the top down, should be to cultivate a culture of collaboration.
The stakeholders of your organization really don’t care that the results by departments are optimized. They only care that the results of the whole organization are optimized. A culture of collaboration is the way to achieve this, and leaders within the organization should be rewarded for collaboration, and penalized if they do not collaborate.
Stanley W. Silverman is a writer, speaker and advisor on effective leadership. He is the Leadership Catalyst at Tier 1 Group, a firm of strategists and advisors for preeminent growth. Silverman is vice chairman of the board of Drexel University, a director of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania and former president and CEO of PQ Corporation. Follow: @StanSilverman. Connect: Stan@SilvermanLeadership.com. Website: www.SilvermanLeadership.com
