The People Case for Collaboration63
retention rates increase as a result of their collaborative experi-
ences.
23
Many partners who had participated in collaborative cli-
ent engagements reported that the most important benefit for them
was the opportunity to meet new colleagues or deepen existing
relationships. For example, one respondent wrote about “the cama-
raderie that comes with working as a group.” Conversely, another
welcomed collaboration because otherwise “being a partner can
feel quite lonely sometimes.”
Partners also mentioned how collaboration helped them feel sup-
ported in their work. For example, one wrote, “A problem shared is a
problem halved—it is reassuring to have the right expertise on hand.
I feel more supported and less anxious about the responsibility I
carry.” Still another answered, “I’m more engaged as part of a team.”
That respondent was speaking to specific circumstances, but our
empirical analyses show that it’s fair to extrapolate to a bigger pic-
ture. We have compelling statistical evidence across firms that peo-
ple who collaborate more—that is, participate in substantive client
work with a greater number of colleagues—not only stay longer at
their firms, but are more financially productive while they’re there.
And committed, collaborative partners almost certainly gener-
ate positive trickle-down effects, too. When partners are better at
collaboration, they are more likely to involve more junior partners
and senior associates in substantive client work—not delegation
of the “do this discrete task and return it when you’re done” var-
iety, but rather, engaging smart minds to help solve complex prob-
lems. It’s not just taking their ideas as background for top-to-top
discussions, but exposing those juniors directly to real-life clients.
Juniors on those sorts of teams not only get increased opportunities
to learn and demonstrate new capabilities, but also receive greater
mentoring. Each of these aspects, in turn, enhances the retention of
both high-performing associates and young partners.
Goal alignment
The more contacts a person has within an organization—such as
the kinds of relationships that emerge from working on deal teams
or joint pitches—the more strongly that person will believe in and
Chapter_02.indd 63 05/10/16 11:38 pm
64SMART COLLABORATION
accept the organization’s values and goals. Senior leaders often
bemoan their partners’ references to “my” clients instead of “our”
clients. Collaboration could be the remedy: collaborative experiences
motivate people to move beyond seeing themselves as a “franchise,”
and instead view themselves as part of an interdependent team.
Knowledge-firm partners often volunteer this perspective when
responding to my survey questions about their personal experi-
ences of collaboration. One wrote, for example, that he valued
teamwork with fellow partners because it produced “the feeling
that colleagues and I are working towards a common goal, namely
the success and prosperity of the firm as a whole.”
Another observed that by “working together as a team, your
sense of pride and accomplishment is much higher.” Collaboration
across internal boundaries—such as practice groups, business
units, or offices—breaks down the oft-decried (but too rarely
countered) “silo mentality.”
Meaning and mastery
Another way that collaboration among partners can increase moti-
vation and productivity is by giving people a broader perspective
on clients’ problems and a deeper understanding of how their spe-
cialty contributes to a bigger solution. Psychological research has
convincingly demonstrated that when employees feel that their
work has meaning and is important to their organization—and
by extension, to clients—then they exert more effort and become
more committed, both to the team and to the organization.
24
In a study that sought to identify the key differences between
high- and low-performing teams, the Gallup organization asked
1.4 million employees from fifty thousand teams questions about
everything from mission and purpose to pay and career opportu-
nities. Next they picked out the statements that high-performing
teams agreed on, but others did not. At the top of the list: “At
work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.”
Teams whose employees "strongly agreed” with this statement
were 44 percent more likely to earn high customer satisfaction
scores, 50 percent more likely to have low employee turnover, and
Chapter_02.indd 64 05/10/16 11:38 pm
The People Case for Collaboration65
38 percent more likely to be productive.
25
Deloitte tested Gallup’s
findings by having a sampling of their own teams fill out a six-item
survey. Again, the employees from the highest-performing teams
all agreed with a modified version of the same statement: “I have
the chance to use my strengths every day.”
26
In response to my surveys, partners frequently mentioned their
ability to learn from their peers during collaborative work. Broadly,
the type of learning people talk about falls into two categories:
content and process. Respondents reported gaining “knowledge
about what other parts of the firm are up to, as well as market
opportunities”; reaching a “broader understanding of what our cli-
ent’s business is, and which individuals to target for a particular
business proposition”; and “learning more about nuances of other
colleagues’ business lines.”
Beyond content knowledge, partners also mentioned develop-
ing their professional capabilities—for example, enhanced skills in
processes such as problem solving, preparing for client pitches, and
communication—through collaboration.
How to foster employee
productivity and loyalty
The preceding examples may have implied that collaboration auto-
matically generated these benefits, but in fact, it’s only excellent col-
laboration that ensures them. If partners simply call together a team
and divvy up the work assuming that “the sum equals the total of
the parts,” the benefits are far from assured. Worse, ineffective and
uncoordinated group work wastes time and demotivates people.
You can increase the odds that your partners are equipped and
willing to lead their collaborative efforts in ways that generate the
maximum returns. How?
•
Create a firmwide approach for eective project launches.
McKinsey, for example, has a format in which a leader is
expected to kick off every new project by briefing the team
on the client and the project objectives, and then clearly
Chapter_02.indd 65 05/10/16 11:38 pm
66SMART COLLABORATION
discussing how each person’s piece fits into the bigger pic-
ture. Teams also spend some time getting to know each
other’s work styles, strengths, and development areas. This
step—which can take less than half an hour if the members
of the team are already familiar with each other—is essential
for aligning members’ goals, helping them know where to
turn with questions (which avoids the leader’s becoming the
sole-source bottleneck), and allowing them to see how their
specialty contributes to a bigger solution. Develop a tem-
plate, train partners and senior managers how to use it, and
then give the system teeth: withhold their expense code until
they actually conduct the project launch.
•
Facilitate personal within-team interactions. People won’t
build relationships or feel the benefit of peer support unless
they have the opportunity to interact during collaboration.
Provide a travel budget that allows members some face-to-
face time—ideally, early in the project, when they need to
establish trust. Throughout and at the end of the project, a
modest celebration fund will encourage teams to focus on
their wins. These interactions enhance members’ sense of
pride and accomplishment, boost firm morale, and build the
“glue” that is the essence of a collaborative culture.
•
Embed explicit learning processes. Taking a cue from elite
military units, the best team leaders use the time right before
the celebration event to conduct a short after-action review
(AAR) to boost team members’ learning from both mistakes
and successes.
27
AAR is a form of group reflection; partic-
ipants review what was intended, what actually happened,
why it happened, and what was learned. Critically, the intent
is to learn rather than blame, and to prompt the sort of
reflection that makes learning possible.
28
As a firm leader,
you should model this behavior, and hold your partners
accountable for doing it, too.
•
Provide a technology platform for sharing information. It
should be easy for collaborators to see each other’s work
Chapter_02.indd 66 05/10/16 11:38 pm
The People Case for Collaboration67
in progress and to share knowledge about the project.
This transparency helps foster a sense of common pur-
pose by giving participants a deeper understanding of the
issue and how various pieces intersect; it also aids learn-
ing as participants get exposure to others’ ways of think-
ing—not simply their end results (more on this topic in
chapter 6).
Building alumni loyalty
Your firm can’t and won’t retain everybody. (The odds and the
economics are against it.) But a collaborative approach is likely to
engender their ongoing loyalty even after they have moved on—
and this loyalty can be of real value to your firm.
How does collaboration play a role in this? Simply stated,
somebody who feels tightly tied into the firm is going to behave
as a friend of the firm after they’ve left. McKinsey—my former
employer—never releases its numbers, but long-standing indus-
try lore has it that the firm derives a large majority of its reve-
nue through its strong relationships with its alumni. McKinsey
also touts its alumni network, including a database of more than
twenty-seven thousand former consultants, as a major benefit for
potential recruits.
29
Here’s how the firm’s website puts it:
alumni—a community for life
As profoundly stimulating as it is at McKinsey, people do
leave. Weʼre OK with that.
In fact, we’re proud of what they achieve as global lead-
ers. Around a quarter of our alumni have started their
own entrepreneurial ventures, and more than 400 are
CEOs of organizations with revenues north of $1 billion.
We think it’s great that there’s a lot of McKinsey in
places other than McKinsey. Because of the collaborative,
supportive nature of the culture, people here make friends
for life.
Chapter_02.indd 67 05/10/16 11:38 pm
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