Collaboration

Try the Braintrust at your next meeting

September 17, 2014
At Pixar, the movie studio behind blockbusters such as “Toy Story” and “Cars”, Ed Catmull cultivated a culture in which filmmakers could share ideas and opinions in a free-flowing, nonthreatening manner. He devised the Braintrust, a regular series of management meetings where the primary purpose is straight talk.

Seattle’s football fans come together

September 8, 2014
When people band together to achieve an ambitious goal, it can heighten everyone’s sense of camaraderie. That’s what happened in Seattle in the lead-up to the Seahawks’ Super Bowl win in 2014.

Does leadership = team success?

August 5, 2014

Po Bronson—The New York Times best-selling author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing—is a big fan of using small teams to tackle big projects. But surely the smaller the team, the more critical the role of the team leader, right? Wrong.

Take a tip from 9/11 families

August 1, 2014

The families of Americans killed on 9/11 rose from crippling tragedy to reshape national policy, becoming the most successful citizen-advocates in generations. Their advice to leaders?

Brainstorming? First, set ground rules

May 5, 2014
Erica was a failed entrepreneur getting a second chance when she realized that her new company was going down just as surely as her own had. Desperate to do something, she latched onto an old-timer, Raymond, who brought together a group of volunteers brainstorming ways to right the ship …

At Citigroup, creativity is a global game

March 13, 2014
In late 2011, Susan Andrews came up with a bold campaign to spur innovation across Citigroup, a global financial firm. As head of innovation for the company’s Citi Ventures unit, Andrews decided to use social media to turn 263,000 em­­ployees in 97 countries into innovators.

A Navy officer’s botched repair

February 27, 2014
U.S. Navy lieutenant Robert Wray was assigned to an important mission on the USS Omaha submarine. At sea, the crew discovered a leak in a complex piece of equipment. After 30 hours of stressful work in cramped surroundings, Wray and his team found it leaked worse than ever …

Target’s ‘wiki’ culture starts with CEO

December 19, 2013

To create a more collaborative culture, CEO Gregg Steinhafel encourages Target’s 365,000 employees to harness social media. The retail giant has developed an internal online platform that enables workers at all levels to post comments, share ideas and engage in Facebook-like interaction with each other.

The power of shared values

October 16, 2013
“Great leadership is not a solo act,” says Robert Vanourek, chairman emeritus of the Vail Leadership Institute and co-author of Triple Crown Leadership. “It’s a group performance. You need to connect through the heart to lead effectively.”

Avoid 5 traps that divide groups

September 23, 2013

Bossy know-it-alls make poor team ­leaders. To build unity among your group, display humility and strive to learn from others. Avoid communicating these five destructive messages to your team.