MODULE TITLE

Module 1: Building the ability to work with people from different communities, disciplines, and functions

AUTHORS

Michael Wildt, Sandra Hogeforster, Anna-Maria Czarny, Christian Wildt

SHORT DESCRIPTION

Open innovation requires working with people from outside of your organization. Often these people come from different cultures, backgrounds, and communities. Working with such diverse teams is a crucial component for success in innovative teams. To prevent diverse backgrounds to be an obstacle, certain aspects must be considered.

After reading this module the reader will receive an overview of different aspects of cultures, how to work with them, and use diversity as an advantage. In addition, different psychological concepts will be explained that facilitate working in teams and reaching the maximum potential of each co-worker. Certain features of your organizational structure will be questioned. To ensure the success of any open innovation strategy with workers from outside of your company cross-functional teams have to be built and work well together. Lastly, setting the right goals and the right long or short-term focus must be thought through when applying any innovation strategy. Especially when it comes to open innovation strategies supervisors must be ready for new perspectives. The ability to work with people from different communities, disciplines, and functions can be learned or enhanced and is the fundament of any open innovation strategy.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Upon completing this module, you should be able to:

A general understanding of the concept of culture and how to treat other cultures.
How to create cultural synergy
Which way is the best to build and work with a cross-functional team
How can SMEs cooperate with large companies or Universities
How to benefit from multiple people working on a project and when a group starts to work inefficiently
How to set goals that will increase the performance of a team without creating pressure and causing distress among team members.

Training Content

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Interprofessional Collaboration

source: https://www.pexels.com/de-de/foto/leute-die-auf-stuhl-innerhalb-des-raumes-sitzen-7688170/

You’ve probably seen motivational posters that include a stock image of contented workers conversing freely and honestly around a table, with the word “Collaboration” enlarged beneath the image. You may have thought that doesn’t really depict your place of employment. Although “collaboration” has somewhat become a catchphrase in the business world, it doesn’t imply it’s a meaningless platitude. When certain precautions are taken, a productive collaborative environment can exist in the workplace.

Provide a Platform for Social Interaction.
Start by planning a company dinner to create a platform for social interaction. A terrific method to get people to chat about their lives, experiences, and current projects is to host a potluck lunch or morning tea.
Reward and acknowledge.
Most job performance objectives must inevitably be evaluated on an individual basis; nevertheless, think about including team-oriented incentives or goals. People are more likely to grasp the value of cooperation and consciously or unconsciously seek synergy among the team members when a corporation emphasizes collaboration and team-based goals. Recognize and honour collective successes with collective rewards like a team excursion or catered lunch. It doesn’t have to be a significant or pricey act of kindness.
Integrate teamwork into ongoing tasks and projects.
Including cooperation in routine chores will promote communication and information exchange. Regular workplace collaboration will strengthen a culture that values working as a team. For instance, a marketing team may produce a monthly internal or external feature on an employee as part of a “getting to know you” campaign to highlight internal talent and talents. Your mechanic department will be thrust into the spotlight by holding quarterly technology update meetings where they may explain what’s fresh in their field. The same is true for your product team; employees are constantly curious about what your business will release next. If you don’t currently have one, think about producing and delivering a monthly team-coordinated internal newsletter.
Promoting Open Communication
Participation at round tables during meetings and brainstorming sessions is another technique to increase collaboration. There will inevitably be quieter team members who are less at ease participating in group settings but who may contribute significantly when pushed.

To add to the degree of transparency on the sales pipeline, new business endeavours, significant projects, or an executive’s day, think about having a leadership Q&A. Start out a meeting with an icebreaker to get everyone involved. Ask employees to discuss a “victory” from the previous week or month, their weekend activities, or their favourite Pastime and why.