Problem

Teams are unwilling to share resources, expertise, or ideas with other departments, often due to competition or lack of trust.

Workshop Title

"Collaboration in Action: Building Bridges Between Teams"

Objectives

• Identify the causes of resistance to collaboration.
• Foster a mindset of trust, openness, and mutual support.
• Develop actionable strategies to encourage cross-team collaboration.

Materials Needed

• Flipchart or whiteboard.
• Sticky notes and markers.
• Collaboration Canvas templates (printed or on large paper).

Process

1. Welcome and Icebreaker (10 minutes)

Activity: Common Ground
↳ Pair participants from different teams and ask them to find 3 things they have in common (work-related or personal).

2. Understanding Resistance to Collaboration (15 minutes)

Activity: Barriers to Collaboration
↳ In small groups, participants brainstorm reasons why teams may resist collaboration (e.g., fear of losing control, lack of trust, unclear goals).
↳ Groups share their findings, and the facilitator records themes on a flipchart or whiteboard.

3. The Benefits of Collaboration (15 minutes)

Activity: Collaboration Wins
↳ Each group identifies an example of successful collaboration (from their experience or hypothetical).
↳ Groups answer:

• What made the collaboration successful?
• How did it benefit the teams and the organisation?
  ↳ Share examples with the larger group.

4. Overcoming Resistance (25 minutes)

Activity: The Collaboration Canvas
↳ Provide each group with a “Collaboration Canvas” template to complete:

• Current Challenges: What makes collaboration difficult?
• Desired State: What does successful collaboration look like?
• Action Steps: What specific actions can we take to improve collaboration?

↳ Groups present their canvases to the larger team.

5. Building Trust Across Teams (20 minutes)

Activity: The Trust Circle
↳ Teams discuss:

• What support do they need from other teams to collaborate better?
• What can they offer other teams to build trust?
  ↳ Write down and share commitments to support collaboration.

6. Closing and Reflection (5 minutes)

Activity: One Step Forward
↳ Each participant shares one personal action they’ll take to improve collaboration (e.g., “I’ll schedule a regular check-in with X team”).

Facilitator Notes

• Welcome and Icebreaker (10 minutes): Purpose is to break the ice and highlight shared connections across teams.
• Understanding Resistance to Collaboration (15 minutes): In the debrief discuss how these barriers impact organisational success and team morale.
• The Benefits of Collaboration (15 minutes): In the debrief emphasise the value of collaboration and how it leads to better outcomes.
• Overcoming Resistance (25 minutes): Output is a consolidated list of actionable strategies to foster collaboration.
• Building Trust Across Teams (20 minutes): In the debrief reinforce the idea that trust is built through small, consistent actions over time.
• Closing and Reflection (5 minutes): Encourage accountability and ongoing dialogue.

Follow-up

Schedule a follow-up in 4 weeks to assess progress and refine the strategies developed in the workshop.