Building Cross-Cultural Intelligence | 3
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for both departments. Beneath these issues were deeper organizational concerns: managers and
individual contributors reluctant to negotiate with their clients, customers who had learned that they
could get what they wanted by going directly to the provider and skirting the formal prioritization
system, and tendency to solve problems by working harder, not smarter.
In this case, there was a structure for identifying priority conflicts: the department review session.
However, waiting for the next meeting may be impossible given the pain felt by over allocated
employees feel. Ideally, employees should be able to talk with their managers. But are their managers
accessible? Do employees even know who their manager is? Believe it or not, in some companies,
people don't know.
Internal structures, such as resource reviews, continuous process improvement efforts, weekly tactical
meetings, and daily huddles, identify and resolve resource allocation conflicts before they interfere with
product quality and service delivery. They also shape a culture in which people can freely raise issues
and proactively solve problems.
4. Create Structures to Encourage Employee Collaboration.
Organizations rely on colleagues across department lines in order to get things done. Yet, relationships
between organizations are often strained, with both parties complaining about lack of understanding
and responsiveness. In their dedicated efforts to service customers, teams are often too busy or too
distracted to share lessons learned with colleagues.
Creating simple structures that encourage employee collaboration can make the difference.
Collaboration and knowledge sharing opportunities prevent teams from reinventing work already
begun by others. Five proven techniques for building effective collaboration are listed below. Which
are the best matches for your organization?
Method Description
Best Practice Forum Periodic meetings that bring teams together to share best practices that they have
developed during the course of their work.
Communities of
Practice
Networks of individuals who all have an interest in a certain topic (for example: a line of
business, type of work, emerging technology, or professional certification) who convene
to share information and ideas. The venue can take the form of in-person discussions,
online data repositories, or colloquiums.
Knowledge Database Online repositories of organizational knowledge. Accessible to project teams,
repository data identifies project lessons learned, explains methodologies, and
presents helpful tools and templates.
Pulse Groups Periodic meetings of randomized groups of employees. Facilitated by a neutral
third party, the Pulse Group provides a time for employees to identify barriers to
success, brainstorm improvement ideas, and dialogue openly with organizational
leadership.
Task Force A group of cross-functional employees brought together for a limited amount of
time in order to solve a high-profile or business-critical problem.
