Jérémy Borot (E05) has coordinated small international teams at McKinsey, large French sales teams at BPCE Payments, and large sales and international teams at Ingénico. In Reflets Magazine #148, he shares some of the good practices gleaned from his experience. Here is a free online translation of the article… subscribe to get the next issues (in French)!

‘We need to break down the silos!’ ‘We have to align ourselves!’ ‘Coordination will forge our strength!’ How many times have we heard this? And how come, after all these resolutions, we still see so many managers protecting their turf or teams going it alone? Why on earth is coordination so difficult for us? 

Because it is time-consuming for a start. One thing is certain; we work faster when we work alone. That we go further together has yet to be proven. Together, we need to know about the projects of the people around us, make sure others are aware of our actions, clarify inter-dependencies, manage susceptibility and anticipate power games...what a lot of effort this calls for! We almost miss organisational silos...at least they simplified the world around us. 

To coordinate ourselves, we could take inspiration from the Patrouille de France. These acrobatic pilots perform their aerial displays in perfect coordination. How do they do it? Well, there is a leader that the others follow with great precision. Legend has it that if the leader were to dive to the ground, they would all crash. That’s a terrible example! Let’s take another activity: choreographed dance. Each dancer knows their part by heart and the whole troupe appears to be coordinated... another example that cannot be applied to the business world.

So, how do we go about it? Here are a few applicable suggestions.

With a method

1. The common goal

Let’s start by wanting the same thing. That might sound trivial, but practical experience has shown that it is often difficult. We are all different, each team manoeuvres within their own set of constraints, and each of us has our preferences and our background. One helpful method consists in displaying the goals for all to see and monitoring the results in real time. 

2. The weekly meeting

The scheduled briefing between the people to be coordinated is a classic way to allow for regular discussion time. Everyone shares what they are doing, their views, doubts and difficulties. It’s effective and not necessarily time-consuming. I often schedule a 30-minute format to document a short report of the previous week’s achievements and the coming week’s aims.

3. Action plan software

Technology can help, particularly task management tools. Each person can thus assign actions to their workmates, confirm the achievement of their own tasks and stay informed. This requires everyone to use the same tool and apply a certain rigour in terms of time. For long-standing teams who know each other well, this is an effective method.

With coordinators

4. The conductor

A project head explicitly takes on the role of coordinating the others. Everyone thus works in silo form...except the head! He/she rallies efforts, manages operations and conducts a collective symphony. If a symphony orchestra is an instrument short, the audience probably won’t notice. That said, without the conductor, no-one plays. 

5. The Project Management Office

We roll out the PMO when the stakes are high and the conductor needs to delegate a process. A small team takes charge of organising coordination and leading regular meetings where everyone shares what they have done, what they will do and any inter-dependencies. The PMO is often perceived as laborious and administrative, with a tendency to treat workers like children. That’s true, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We can make it intelligent, rapid, effective and entertaining. It’s a question of dexterity and style.

6. The journalist

Imagine an in-house communication team which sings the praises of every participant and each team. Everyone is thus informed of ongoing actions and can enjoy taking part in reports. Try it! Surprisingly, it works. You can use shared text editing software, Wikipedia-style, or an in-house WordPress.

Alone

7. Improvisation

The actors of an improvised play appear coordinated on stage. Yet, each actor is improvising. What’s their secret? They abide by a handful of rules which allow them to build collectively. The trick is to always accept the proposals of their fellow players. If the first declares ‘I’m a tree’ and stands with their arms in the air, the others accept this. They’ll become a bird, a passer-by or another tree. They will never go against the proposal. Do you improvise with your workmates? Or do you all too often reject the scenario?

8 .The positive a priori

Trust yourself. Always think well of your colleagues. Assume that their decisions are thought-out and appropriate. And so never get angry with your colleagues. Loss of communication creates opportunities to appear disorderly. The positive a priori is a requisite for improvisation. Without it, we antagonise each other, get angry and the barons head into war!

9. Professional intimacy

Knowing yourself, and thus trusting yourself, contributes to shaping a positive a priori of your colleagues. Time helps to achieve this. Good times where possible. Do we absolutely need to spend three days hiking and camping with our workmates? Maybe not...but it can help to strengthen intimacy as well as forging life-long memories. So think about team events! Especially memorable ones.

10. Add your own technique

We all have our own stories, experiences, failures and triumphs. What are yours? What are your methods for coordination? Good luck with your projects!

Translation of an article published in Reflets Magazine #148. Read a preview (in French). 
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