Shortlist: 5 ways to help create a culture of collaboration

INSEAD professor Miguel Lobo explains how we can facilitate better working relationships.

Do you believe that success at work should be all about competence and that emotions should be left at home with family and friends? You’re not alone.

However, in the modern workplace – where organisations are becoming more complex and are operating in networked, rather than hierarchical, structures – the way we create value in our businesses is changing.

Today's jobs rarely create value through linear, repeatable tasks – and those that do are being automated out of existence. Increasingly, businesses create value through information, knowledge and co-ordination.

For each of these, relationships are central. Co-ordination only works if relationships work; the business only succeeds if knowledge flows through the network of employees accurately and quickly.

This is all the more important when we consider future talent – generations who will expect to develop more emotionally rewarding careers.

In order to adapt our people to this new world, we will need to establish ‘managing relationships’ as a core competence for the majority of our employees. And to succeed in this, we must first examine our own emotional intelligence and acknowledge and accept our own biases before we can develop our people.

Here are five ways to build better working relationships.

1. Acknowledge that ‘likeability’ affects your decisions.

Most managers believe that they make choices at work based on other people’s skills and competences, rather than on whether or not they like them. They consider this to be part of their professional identity.

However, it’s rarely true. We tend to prioritise liking over competence more than we think we do. We need to understand this bias and manage it – recognising that it’s not always a bad thing. Establishing trust and being approachable is essential to building relationships that work.

2. Recognise that relationship-building is vital.

Don’t treat working relationships as an afterthought. When recruiting, defining jobs and training, make proficiency in collaborating with others a valued trait.

3. Know that bias affects diversity.

We tend to like people who are similar to ourselves and choose people we like. Teams that lack diversity are less effective.

Homogeneity reduces creativity and problem-solving. Redesign your notion of similarity. Develop a team identity to create affinity across an otherwise diverse group.

4. Make ‘relationship management’ a core competency.

‘Competent jerks' (efficient but poor at relationships) have a strong identity around task-based success and reject considerations such as likeability. Trying to change a person's identity is a losing game.

Rather than trying to make them be nice for the sake of it, put likeability into their competency identity: make them see managing relationships as a core competence.

5. Use the power of reciprocity.

One of the greatest forces in human emotions is reciprocity: I like you if you like me; I trust you if you trust me. We even tend to fall in love with someone who’s falling in love with us.

Use reciprocity to create a positive environment characterised by collaboration, communication and knowledge-sharing. Give positive feedback, show appreciation and initiate trust.