by Jane Anderson, Columnist & Featured Contributor
WHEN I FIRST READ the title of the book, I wondered what relation silos have to collaboration. After reading Collaboration Begins With You: Be A Silo Buster by Ken Blanchard, Jane Ripley, and Eunice Parisi-Carew, I have a new outlook on the relationship of silos to collaboration. As the story opened, that aha moment was almost immediate. Silos are everywhere. They exist when people have their own agenda and protect their own interests instead of working together for the success of the project. When teams need to be cohesive, stick together and support each other, silos impede any progress toward those efforts.
Told in a refreshing style that reads like a novel, this book goes straight to the heart of the topic. The characters who 
tell the story are people we work with, live next door to, and interact with every day. Using story as the vehicle, readers have the advantage of deep learning and will remember what they learned because they identify with the characters as well as the subject.
The key to becoming a high performing organization is to be a collaborative organization. To reach collaboration, everyone has to feel like they are making a contribution. A collaborative mindset focuses on what is good for the project, the collective good, not individual gain.
“Collaboration begins with you”, is not a benign catch phrase that sounds nice. “Collaboration begins with you” assigns responsibility to every member of the organization for creating a collaborative culture. To simplify how a collaborative culture forms, the authors piece together the domains of collaboration though symbols we can easily relate to – because we all have them. Heart > Head > Hands Why is this significant? Because for true collaboration to take place, it begins inside at heart level. “Collaboration is an inside-out mindset.”
Heart: Who you are as a collaborator
Could it be that motives affect collaboration? Does trust enter the equation of effective collaboration? The answer. Yes, more than we might expect. The heart is where personality, intellect, and emotions collide and it plays a major role in collaborations. We learn that true collaboration views conflict as healthy and values differences, while creating a safe and trusting environment. “The key is to continuously promote a collaborative mindset and culture within the company.”
Head: What you know – beliefs and attitudes about collaboration
How many times are we asked, “What were you thinking?” The truth is, what we think colors the landscape of our attitude. Everything we know and believe affects our attitudes. Collaboration means promoting communication, involving others, getting their input, forming values and building toward common goals together. Internalized values such as integrity, building trust, being respectful, honoring contributions, nurturing a learning environment, and inspiring creativity factor into thinking collaboratively. “A successful project begins with clear purpose, values, and goals.”
Hands: What you do – actions and behavior during collaboration
The symbol of actions and behaviors affect abilities to collaborate. We don’t physically build up and tear down silos, but the things we do, the acts we perform, either put up silos when we don’t work together or tear them down when we share the work, trust each other, coach people, and use power discerningly. Make communication a priority, focus on sharing information truthfully and liberally. Whether in meetings or informally, talk about the project and things of interest but not related to the project. Get to know each other so truth can be spoken and debate can occur in a safe environment. “Open communication is vital to collaboration and leads to empowerment – of yourself and others.
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UNITE: Collaboration Acronym
Utilize differences
Nurture safety and trust
Involve others in crafting a clear purpose, values, and goals
Talk openly
Empower yourself and others[/message]
Though this book functions as a learning tool, it tells a story about a very human group of people, working in a common, politically charged work environment where the culture is more competitive than considerate. This isn’t a book with heavy facts, figures, and theory. This is a story told with such conviction and believable characters, readers come away with an infusion of learnings they remember and can immediately use in their next project.
In the context of each domain the authors point out things to look for, problems and solutions most likely to occur in each area of Heart, Head, Hands. Collaboration is more than a team working together. Collaboration is everyone taking responsibility, everyone being all in, everyone understanding how to apply sound principles to the process and being, not just productive, but also effective.
Heart > Head > Hands Using all three domains, regardless of your role, makes a difference in helping create a culture of collaboration in your organization.
