The buzzword “synergy” that was initially a snide term for corporations, has now returned to the forefront of conversation as businesses are looking for ways to collaborate across departments – in hybrid or remote environments for example. It’s not being used as a derogatory corporate term, but rather to describe an extremely collaborative process that is highly sought-after.
Synergy is the idea that a group is more than its parts. The positive synergy that results from this enables teams to do more than they could on their own. it also creates a platform for team members to be their full self at work, bringing their unique experiences in life views, perspectives, talents and styles of communication.
On the other the other hand, negative synergy could drag teams down and cause them to produce subpar results despite each individual’s personal strengths. This is usually because of miscommunications and conflicts which arise over roles, responsibilities, and schedules.
To avoid these issues to avoid these issues, it is essential that teams build a solid foundation of trust and collaboration by clearly defining the vision for the project and clearly defining each team member’s part in this. The simplest way to accomplish this is through an interactive role mapping process which is where each team member works with their counterparts to establish clear records of who is responsible for what and when. This eliminates confusion and helps save time, energy and conflict for teams. It also allows managers to take over and coach in the event of need.