Championing Collaboration: A Leadership Imperative for Business Success

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Championing Collaboration: A Leadership Imperative for Business Success

March 11, 2025

Nick Colisto

Sr. Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Corporate

LinkedIn Profile

Championing Collaboration: A Leadership Imperative for Business Success

Collaboration is the foundation of every great achievement. Across industries, organizations that foster strong collaboration unlock innovation, drive efficiency and achieve enterprise-wide success. However, effective collaboration requires intentional leadership, a shared purpose and a commitment to breaking through common barriers.

The Challenges of Collaboration

Many organizations face similar obstacles when trying to foster a collaborative culture:

Siloed Thinking – Teams often prioritize their own goals over broader organizational alignment.
Lack of Meaningful Outcomes – Collaboration efforts that fail to produce tangible business results can lead to disengagement.
Misaligned Incentives – Performance and reward systems that emphasize individual or team success over cross-functional contributions can discourage collaboration.

Building a Culture of Effective Collaboration

Balancing Team and Enterprise Goals

One of the biggest challenges in collaboration is ensuring that cross-functional efforts don’t conflict with immediate team priorities. Successful leaders recognize that true impact comes from aligning team objectives with broader business goals.

Foster an enterprise-first mindset by integrating cross-team collaboration into performance goals.
Communicate the “big picture” so teams understand how their work contributes to larger business success.
Train managers to balance team priorities with organizational needs, reinforcing collaboration as a leadership responsibility.
Encourage senior leaders to co-own digital initiatives, not just sponsor them. Gartner research shows that when CIOs and CxOs share accountability for digital delivery, success rates jump from 48% to 71%, reinforcing the power of leadership-driven collaboration.

At Avery Dennison, we’ve made collaboration a strategic priority within IT. As an example, last year, we integrated our application service delivery teams across the organization. This new model leverages our collective strengths and empowers teams to work together to innovate and accelerate the development and delivery of digital solutions aligned with UNITY, our technology standards and the company’s goals. This level of cross-functional teamwork—both within IT and across the enterprise—is driving tangible value for our customers.

Whether advancing digital transformation, optimizing supply chains, or accelerating innovation, organizations that master collaboration operate with greater agility and impact.

Ensuring Collaboration Leads to Impact

Collaboration is most effective when it delivers tangible results. Set clear goals and accountability to drive productivity.

Define specific objectives for all cross-team initiatives to align collaboration with measurable outcomes.
Appoint collaboration champions to drive accountability and ensure follow-through.
Conduct retrospectives to assess what worked, what didn’t, and how future efforts can be improved.
Share success stories that highlight the power of collaboration in driving meaningful results.

Rewarding and Recognizing Collaborative Efforts

When incentives focus solely on individual or team-based achievements, collaboration can take a back seat. Organizations that prioritize cross-functional teamwork recognize and reward collaborative contributions.

Update performance metrics to include contributions to cross-functional projects.
Establish team-based awards that celebrate collaboration-driven success.
Offer career advancement opportunities and leadership visibility for those who champion collaboration.

Leadership Behaviors That Drive Collaboration

Effective leaders who foster collaboration exhibit key behaviors that create a culture of trust, innovation, and shared success:

Bridging Silos – Engaging stakeholders across different teams to align efforts toward common goals.
Balancing Confidence and Flexibility – Stepping outside of immediate responsibilities to support enterprise-wide initiatives.
Managing Conflict Constructively – Addressing obstacles head-on to remove barriers to collaboration.
Inspiring Followership – Recognizing contributions and fostering a culture where collaboration is valued.

Turning Collaboration Into a Competitive Advantage

Collaboration isn’t just about working together—it’s about driving business outcomes. Whether advancing digital transformation, optimizing supply chains, or accelerating innovation, organizations that master collaboration operate with greater agility and impact.

By embedding collaboration into leadership practices, organizations can accelerate progress, improve efficiency, and drive success in a rapidly evolving business landscape.

A Call to Action for Leaders

True collaboration requires leadership at every level. As leaders, we must ask ourselves:

Are we aligning our team’s priorities with the organization’s broader goals?
Are we ensuring collaboration leads to meaningful results?
Are we fostering an environment where collaboration is encouraged and rewarded?

By championing collaboration, businesses can build stronger teams, drive innovation, and create lasting competitive advantage. Success isn’t achieved in isolation—it’s built together, one partnership at a time.

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