Topics—Problems
When Competition Is Destructive
Internal competition often works against the culture, against open communication.
Most managers and employees agree that open communications are good. The communication pattern is set by the culture—established by the leadership. To understand communications, look up in the organization. What do people do at the top to support open or closed behavior?
At The Top
In many companies, senior managers talk about trust and openness, but act otherwise. This is rarely conscious. No senior manager deliberately wants to close down communications, but a competitive internal environment can be a driving force in stifling openness. In your organization, how often do you see competition among the senior executive group, or criticism by an executive of the actions of other departments, or of lower management? Aggressive behavior at the top of any organization sets the stage for protective/defensive behavior below such as rigid, rule bound, and "siloed" communication. These cultural patterns, understandable as they may be, are bad for morale, productivity, and customer service.
In the public sector, the politically appointed or elected officials compete for their share of public opinion, often criticizing each other openly. This is true in all levels of government, and in state and federal agencies.
Keep Your Head Down
Lower down in the organization, many managers and supervisors try to protect their people from the destructive environment they experience above them. This is easier to do if your offices are physically removed from corporate headquarters.
Many executives are unaware of the effect of their driving competitiveness. You have probably experienced the well meaning suggestions, that quickly turn to a shower of unwanted directives; or seen comments about other departments, that unintentionally stifle cross-functional cooperation.
One Solution—Put It On The Table For Discussion
Sometimes a good discussion about communications among the members of the executive team is enough to begin changing this cultural pattern. The discussion can be fairly straightforward. One opener might be, "I'd like to hear from each of you about a situation you were in recently where communications really worked well. After that I’d like us to discuss what qualities made these situations work so well. Then I'd like to see what we can do, as the leadership group, to demonstrate more of these qualities throughout our organization. Who’d like to begin?"
For more, see Building Collaboration.