Communication and Cooperation

Let’s look at the width of ‘communication and cooperation’ – cooperation across department lines. It’s probably a matter of survival that departments within an organization work together.  But to what degree do they cooperate?

We see broadly consistent numbers here from year to year rather than a trend up or down. Responses are evenly spread in 2020 but tilt toward the positive, with 57% saying ‘always’ or ‘usually’ and 43% answering ‘sometimes´  or ‘never.’

Alicia and the people working with her would likely answer on the negative side of this question. She describes herself as having a high standard, one that only she can meet. “Nobody can really get this up to my standards,” she said, “not marketing, not finance, not human resources.”

Is it possible that Alicia’s apparent high standard reveals a lack of trust? It doesn’t seem like a good environment if a manager in one department can’t expect excellent results from employees in another department.

Can Alicia learn to trust others and let go of some of the work? What tools, training, or programs could she Implement to reverse the damage caused by their flawed culture? She may not even be aware that a problem exists because she is too lost in owning every detail of the work.

An effective diagnosis of the symptoms, though, would lay everything out in black and white, and allow them to create a plan to change those behaviors.