Smarter Collaboration: A New Approach to Breaking Down Barriers and Transforming Work

Excelente servicio.

I had the opportunity to hear Dr. Gardner speak when I worked at a Canadian law firm several years ago and immediately read Smart Collaboration, her first book on the topic. Smarter Collaboration is an equally illuminating follow up. Meticulously researched, accessible and full of insights for a range of organizations, it will help people at any stage of their careers understand the why, who and how of smarter collaboration. Gardner and Matviak take a much-needed systems approach to help complex organizations solve problems and ensure that their people feel engaged and included.

I bought this book on a strong recommendation, and I am pleased that it lived up to its billing. I entered with some reservations - I work in the non-profit field, and it seems clear that the author specializes in the professional services sector, so I was worried that the lessons wouldn't necessarily apply. Fortunately, my worries were unfounded, and it would be hard for me to think of a field or sector in which the methods wouldn't be applicable. I hope my review can help anyone in a similar situation if they are hesitating on picking this book up for a similar reason.The book is meticulously researched and clearly communicated without getting bogged down in too much industry-speak or business school jargon. It is well-organized, making it easy to reference whatever I'm looking for after I've read, with many useful charts and tables. Specific to my use, beyond the usual issues of maximizing dollars that everyone faces, retaining employees and making sure not to overextend those who we do keep have been major challenges for my organization. Gardner and Matviak lay out not just examples of collaboration, but a blueprint for analysis and implementation as well. Every organization talks about breaking down silos and building capacity--this book lays out the way to do so.To me, the most important takeaway is one that the authors repeat several times: collaboration is not an end itself, but an means to another end. It seems self-evident when laid out this way, but think about how often organizations, committees, boards, and any other group seems to treat collaboration as a goal in and of itself. The authors show a better method, identifying more specific goals and then showing ways to enable collaboration to help reach those goals.

I'm the CEO of my company and got this book in advance of starting a 6-month trial of the 4-day workweek. We're already often not in the office together since 2020 and already used to home office/distance working - now we'll be working asynchronously as well.Some of the ideas were for much larger enterprises than mine (we are 16 employees) but they were still inspirational in general, and I really liked all the examples and stories from real life, which made it practical and not just theoretical. In particular I liked the chapters on inclusion and overcommitment, which are both super relevant for us. I'd recommend this book to other business leaders, especially those looking to transform their workplace!

How do we as CPO’s purposely create a culture which drives engagement, embrace diversity, retain critical talent and innovate? This culture must also be sustainable and scalable, to give offer a distinctive strategic advantage.What is one thing, that if we as leaders role modelled it and simple frameworks were adopted to execute it, would be guaranteed to drive up operational performance and organizational efficiency.The answer – Smarter Collaboration.A skill essential to navigating the future of work, Heidi Gardner and Ivan Matviak spell out how collaboration drives competitive advantage and the vital role it plays in heightening employee engagement, wellbeing, retention and accelerating development. Part, one lays out the investment, part two methodologies for assessing your company's collaborative strength, part three address the ‘who’ and the’ how’, bridging theory and practice and part four, my favourite chapter addresses the phenomena of ‘collaboration overload’ – what to do when you have too much of a good thing.This year, if your success, demands building dynamic partnerships across boundaries, within organizational silos or externally via partners and within ecosystems, you simply can't afford not to read this book or you risk being left in the 'shadow’ of those who have.