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Don't Ask People To Collaborate If You Don't Take In Account The Seven Barriers To Collaboration

Writer's picture: Erwan HernotErwan Hernot


Collaboration cannot be based simply on goodwill
Barriers to collaboration are everywhere

Barriers to collaboration in a corporate setting can significantly impede effective teamwork and performance if they are not properly addressed. Simply asking people to collaborate, without considering and managing these barriers, can result in surface-level or dysfunctional cooperation. Here's a deeper exploration of the key barriers:


1. Lack of Shared Knowledge Across a Complex Organization

In large organizations, departments and teams often work in silos, with limited understanding of each other's functions, roles, and objectives. This lack of shared knowledge makes it difficult for different parts of the company to align their efforts. People in various teams may not fully grasp how their work impacts other areas, leading to misunderstandings, redundancies, or conflicts.

  • Why This Matters: Collaboration requires a baseline of mutual understanding. If employees are unaware of each other's roles and responsibilities, their ability to cooperate meaningfully diminishes. Without shared knowledge, there is a higher likelihood of miscommunication, conflicting priorities, and a lack of cohesion in achieving broader organizational goals.


2. Lack of Competence Trust

Competence trust refers to the belief that one’s collaborators have the necessary skills and knowledge to do their job effectively. When teams come together from different departments, there may be skepticism about the capabilities of other team members, particularly when the expertise required crosses functional boundaries.

  • Why This Matters: If employees do not trust the competence of others, they will be hesitant to share information, delegate tasks, or seek input from their colleagues. Without competence trust, team members may try to micromanage others or disengage altogether, which can severely hinder collaboration.


3. Lack of Interpersonal Trust

Explanation: Interpersonal trust involves the belief that others will act with integrity, reliability, and goodwill. This is often built over time through consistent, positive interactions. In a corporate setting, especially across sectors and geographies, employees may not have had the opportunity to build such relationships.

  • Why This Matters: Collaboration often involves sharing sensitive or valuable information, asking for help, or depending on others to meet deadlines. If interpersonal trust is absent, individuals will be less likely to engage openly or rely on others, leading to fragmented teamwork.


4. Unsupportive Incentive Structure

Many organizations have incentive structures that reward individual or departmental success over cross-functional cooperation. For instance, sales teams might be rewarded based on revenue targets, while product development teams are measured on innovation milestones. These differing metrics of success can cause friction when teams are asked to collaborate.

  • Why This Matters: Without alignment in incentives, there is little motivation for teams to work together. Employees may perceive collaboration as a distraction from their personal or departmental goals, or worse, view other teams as competition for resources, credit, or recognition. A misaligned incentive structure fosters a "turf war" mentality.


5. Sectoral and Geographic Tensions

Large, multinational companies often face collaboration challenges when there are sectoral, geographic, or functional divisions. These divisions can create competing loyalties or goals, especially when different parts of the company have conflicting priorities. For example, country managers may be focused on growing regional market share, while sector leaders are focused on their industry-specific strategy.

  • Why This Matters: Collaboration can be strained when there is confusion over ownership or authority. In the case of a large client like Amazon, which spans multiple sectors and functions (retail and technology, for instance), different teams may vie for control, leading to confusion about who is responsible for managing the relationship. This lack of clarity fosters internal competition, undermines teamwork, and may result in a suboptimal customer experience.


6. Confusing and Overlapping Matrix Structures

Matrix organizations often operate with overlapping reporting lines, where employees may report to both a functional leader and a sector or geographic leader. This structure can create confusion about decision-making authority and accountability. For instance, in an organization with matrix reporting, it might be unclear who has the final say on strategic decisions or how teams are supposed to coordinate their efforts across functions.

  • Why This Matters: When employees are uncertain about who “owns” certain tasks or customers, collaboration becomes inefficient. Decision-making can be slow as employees seek approval from multiple parties, and there is often a risk of duplication of efforts or contradictory directives. Without clear accountability and role definitions, collaboration becomes more of a liability than a strength.


7. Turf Wars

Explanation: Turf wars emerge when departments or teams compete for resources, recognition, or control over key client relationships. In the scenario of Amazon, which spans both retail and technology sectors, different teams might feel that they have a legitimate claim to managing the relationship, based on their expertise and strategic focus.

  • Why This Matters: Turf wars lead to fragmented approaches to collaboration, where different teams might withhold information, undermine each other’s efforts, or fail to coordinate effectively. This creates a disjointed experience for the client and diminishes the company’s ability to provide integrated, comprehensive solutions.


Why We Can’t Simply Ask People to Collaborate

Collaborative efforts will break down unless these barriers are actively addressed because people naturally revert to their comfort zones or immediate objectives. Overcoming these barriers requires a deliberate effort to foster shared knowledge, build trust, realign incentives, and create clear structures of responsibility. Without these enablers, collaboration becomes superficial, and the outcomes are likely to be poor. Employees must be given the right environment and tools to collaborate effectively, and leaders must actively work to break down the silos that inhibit cooperation.


Incorporating solutions such as cross-functional training, building trust through relationship-building initiatives, and aligning incentives to reward collaboration, can help companies overcome these barriers and ensure that collaboration is productive and sustainable.

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