The Future of Work is Co-Creation
At Cotalent, we believe that the way organizations work together needs to evolve greatly. The path to success is no longer solely paved by a leader who develops an effective strategic vision and then commissions a strong team to execute it. As companies become more complex and face continuous changes (consumers, technologies, processes) and growing stakeholders, only teams and individuals who co-create will be successful at tackling the ever-increasing complexity. When tackling organizational challenges, there is a tendency to focus on parts and people. However, Dr. Peter Hawkins, a global thought leader, professor, coach, and consultant proclaim that the real challenges in organizations are not in the parts or the people – but in the connections.
Co-creation is not new. The concept has been around since 2000 and was mainly focused in the commercial areas of the business as a design process for new product development. Despite its proven success in companies such as DHL, P&G, and many mid-sized and start up companies, it’s been a scary endeavour for many organizations to find the right customers and outside stakeholders to co-create with, and it’s often been trialled as an innovation exercise. At Cotalent, we see a tremendous opportunity to stretch the concept more broadly and pilot with organizational challenges and ideation – big or small.
What is co-creation?
Our definition of co-creation is simple: to generously share thoughts and ideas with a curious mindset and “let go” attitude, allowing others to build and enhance with their own ideas. You’ll know you’re co-creating successfully if by the end of the discussion, it’s not possible to identify or remember who said what.
Co-creation is also about more than just working with your peers. Often people think that they are working well in a team; however, most of their meetings are about sharing information and agreeing with one and another. We rarely see these individuals working together in between meetings or collaborating with members outside of their organization, like suppliers, customers or stakeholders.
We also see leaders spend a lot of their time attempting to gain buy-in from team members or stakeholders, selling in their own ideas. Co-creation allows an initial idea to be built upon and for team members and stakeholders to contribute to the process. The byproduct is not only more comprehensive ideas, but also buy-in because stakeholders were part of the process.
We have to learn how to co-create, not just within our own teams but with a vast community of stakeholders. Think big:
· Teams with other colleagues
· Managers with managers from other departments
· Leaders with employees
· Organizations with communities
· Teams with customers and consumers
Tips for success
To be able to co-create, we need some success factors:
1. Humility: don’t be afraid to share or be guided by politics. It’s not about individual ideas but how individual thought builds collective ideas.
2. Be engaged and have the desire to participate.
3. Trust that others can come up with interesting ideas and that you will also play a role, even if it’s just to encourage or listen.
4. If you like to prepare, please do so, but also come with an open mind!
5. Respect: some people need to prepare first and think alone, while others prefer to think as they talk. There is a collective value in the difference.
6. Diversity: include outside members - people with different viewpoints, experiences or interests. They can only help you see things differently or bring something new to your attention.
Where does the magic happen?
Co-creation can happen everywhere and anywhere, including board meetings, conference calls, walks or lunch, and not only when it’s planned. However, expect that there will be ups and downs in the creation. Try to resist shutting down or getting frustrated. Trust your colleagues, and together you will go much further (versus faster) and ultimately have greater impact.
Ready, set, co-create!
At your next meeting, think of the time with your peers as a ping pong game. Are you able to serve a ball to your partner, even if it might not be perfect? Does he or she return it? Do you have the patience to rally with your peers, or do you start to play alone?
If you notice in the meeting that people are exchanging and building on each other’s ideas without caring who said what, then it looks like you’re co-creating. Well done!
Reach out to us with your stories and learnings, or if you want to explore how we can support you.
Bree & Justine
Cotalent.ca