Reflect
on the role of collaboration and getting to resolution in the process of
decision-making. Rarely, if ever, do our decisions affect only ourselves.
Consider the importance of getting other stakeholders involved; how can they
help you make a better decision for all? Detail a specific situation
where you are faced with the decision, describe the process you went through
and the outcome you were seeking. Identify 5 ways stakeholder involvement can help
you make better decisions. Did you achieve your objective? Looking
back at the decision you made and its consequence, was there anyone else that
would have added value to the process? Identify 3 ways you may use this
learning experience to make better decisions in the future?
Boeing uses a team based approach
to collaboration known as "Working Together." It is a story about
team building "Working Together" management strategy and the
revolutionary design build teams (DBT's) that were created, empowered and engaged
originally for the new 777 Program vision. The end result was that
"working together" worked. It is a powerful concept and proved that
"none of us is as smart as all of us." To survive in the 21st century
there is a motto: "Nothing endures but change." Become adaptable and
flexible or else we will not be in business (Boeing, 2016).
Prior
to this strategy, the years rolled by and Boeing grew bigger. Bureaucracy and
red tape crept in. Functional silos grew larger with little horizontal
integration. Work groups and teams became isolated. The process became serial
with the domino snowball effect. And people did only their piece of the job and
handed it over without sharing knowledge and resources. Conflicts arose
impacting productivity and quality. This was not lean and efficient.
Alan Mulally was one of the two 777 project leaders
and developed created the "Working Together" philosophy and
foundation. He later left Boeing (after being passed over on CEO position to
Jim McNerney from 3M) to run Ford Motor Company and lead one of the most
remarkable revolutionary turnarounds in the auto industry. Mulally believed in
"simplicity" amid "complexity, chaos and confusion" and
kept lego blocks and Fisher Price toys in his office to remind him and the
DBT's of the importance of ease of assembly. It worked! Mulally retired from
Ford and is currently a board director for Google. He was under consideration
for the top job at Microsoft prior to the appointment of Satya Nadella.
Mulally summarized the "working together"
philosophy at both Boeing and Ford, "It goes back to where Boeing
started," "the power of coming together around a compelling vision of
where the organization is going to go...and then coming together around a
strategy to achieve which includes everybody, where everybody benefits, and
then knowing what the status is and taking action." In a survey by Aviation
Week and Space Technology, Boeing was rated the top choice among upper-tier
workers, in what the magazine called "professional
development/opportunity." (Wilhelm, Oct 15, 2014)
Some of the "Mulallyisms" and words of
advice:
- Seek to understand, before you seek
to be understood.
- Hold two thoughts: What is the
reality, and what do we want to create.
- Put people first – include
everybody.
- Have a compelling vision, a
comprehensive strategy and implement relentlessly.
- Trust the process.
- Facts and data set you free.
- Have fun. (Wilhelm, Oct 15, 2014)
Warren Bennis argues and documents in his
collaboration research masterpiece Organizing
Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration of "THE END
OF THE GREAT MAN" that "None of us is as smart as all of us." The
myth of the triumphant individual is deeply ingrained in the American psyche.
Whether it is John Wayne "The Duke," midnight rider Paul Revere or
basketball's Michael Jordan in the 1990s, we are a nation enamored of
heroes--rugged self-starters who meet challenges and overcome adversity. Our
contemporary views of leadership are entwined with our notions of heroism, so
much so that the distinction between "leader" and "hero"
(or "celebrity," for that matter) often becomes blurred. In our
society, leadership is too often seen as an inherently individual phenomenon (Bennis
and Biederman, 1997).
And
yet we all know that cooperation and collaboration grow more important every
day. A shrinking world in which technological and political complexity along
with the global economy increase at an accelerating rate offers fewer and fewer
arenas in which individual action suffices. Recognizing this, we talk more and
more about the need for teamwork, citing the Japanese approach to management, e.g.,
the Toyota Production System (TPS), as a call for a new model of effective
action. Yet despite the rhetoric of collaboration, we continue to advocate it
in a culture in which people strive to distinguish themselves as individuals.
We continue to live in a by-line culture where recognition and status are
according to individuals, not groups (Bennis and Biederman, 1997).
The
"working together" philosophy at Boeing has since been renamed
"winning together" and has refined the team process to employee
involvement teams (EIT's) for production, quality, supply chain and engineering.
I am the "captain" of our high-performance industrial engineering
team. We use conflict and resolution as an opportunity to develop, grow, mature
and generate new ideas for continuous improvement. We include stakeholders
including customers (internal and external) into our process for strategic
alignment, e.g., vision, charter, operating guidelines principles, daily
operations, customer survey feedback and goals. For example, for each customer
survey, we review the results with the customer. There are usually several
conflicts including roles responsibilities. To create resolution, we have a
meeting to ensure strategy and vision are in alignment. For any gaps, we
develop an action plan (agreements) with follow-up coordination meetings. This
ensures a closed-loop communication process from conflict to resolution. This
process is not perfect, however, our team is a model for other lower stage teams
to follow because it works. We mentor and coach other teams in this too which enhances
collaboration (Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model) with emphasis on
engagement.
References:
Bennis,
Warren and Biederman, Patricia Ward (1997). Organizing
Genius: The Secrets of Creative Collaboration. New York: Basic Books
(Perseus Books Group).
Boeing (2016). Retrieved
http://www.boeing.com/
Levine,
Stuart (2009). Getting to resolution:
Turning conflict into collaboration (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA:
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Wilhelm,
Steve (Oct 15, 2014). 'Working together:' Alan Mulally
recalls Boeing, Ford in wide-ranging talk. Puget Sound Business Journal
(Seattle). Retrieved
http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2014/10/15/did-alan-mulally-just-give-human-relations-advice.html
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