A chief collaboration officer should be your next hire

In today’s constantly changing and challenging business environment, collaboration is more important than ever. But what if – like many organizations – you don’t have the right people in place to make it happen?

That’s where a chief collaboration officer comes in.

Reporting directly to the CEO, a chief collaboration officer, or a CCO, is a senior executive responsible for fostering collaboration across all levels of an organization.

You might not have heard of this job title before, but chances are that you’re going to start seeing a lot more chief collaboration officers soon.

Just like the rest of an organization, boards evolve over time. After all, at the turn of the millennium, chief customer experience officers (CXOs) and chief information security officers (CISOs) were considered highly unconventional positions.

They’re now almost ubiquitous on the boards of large organizations – present in roughly 90% and 55% respectively.

Why now?

Research shows that collaboration is now a key factor holding back progress in many organizations. A recent study found that a majority (79%) of employees reported working in siloed teams, and over two-thirds (68%) said their work was being negatively impacted due to a lack of visibility into cross-functional projects.

A similar number of C-level executives named knowledge silos as a core enterprise challenge.

Put simply, a lack of collaboration is stifling productivity and preventing organizations from performing at their best. Not only does this immediately impact the bottom line, but it can also hit employee retention and customer loyalty in the long term.

What does a chief collaboration officer do?

A chief collaboration officer enhances productivity by enabling cross-functional collaboration. They sit across all functions, ensuring that the entire workforce has a common goal, purpose and a clear vision of where it should be heading.

Collaboration is more than just teamwork. It focuses the collective force of an organization on transformational goals, giving people a sense of meaning and purpose.

You might be thinking ‘isn’t that the CEO’s job?’. Yes, but it’s too business-critical to be just one of the many items on CEOs’ growing to-do lists.

To truly master the art and science of effective collaboration, large organizations need a figure that is solely dedicated to this effort.

The idea is that the chief collaboration officer can gain a holistic – and completely impartial – view of the business.

This enables them to understand what employees really need to work to the best of their abilities, as well as tap into clients’ requirements to nurture mutually beneficial, productive relationships.

Enabling business collaboration means getting your hands dirty

Every organization is unique, and so the responsibilities of a chief collaboration officer will vary depending on its size, sector and level of digital maturity.

However, it’s worth noting that a successful CCO won’t sit in an ivory tower putting together abstract theories. They’ll be on the ground, getting their hands dirty.

Some of a chief collaboration officer’s tangible responsibilities might include:

• Change management: With the acceleration of technological and societal change, we now (in theory) have the digital tools to work seamlessly across globally distributed workforces. But putting these into action through policies, processes and cultural change still presents a challenge for many organizations. A chief collaboration officer can play a crucial role in ensuring that new, modern systems of operation are embraced throughout your organization, holding everyone accountable for delivery based on agreed business outcomes.
• Modern workplace culture: We are in the midst of a social revolution where the workplace is no longer a physical location, but an extension of our homes and even our personal identities. Employees want to feel connected to their work and have a sense of purpose and belonging. The best way to do this is by creating a culture of collaboration, enabling your organization to retain and grow talent in the long term. A CCO can help to create a modern workplace culture that is supportive and engaging. Part of this means embracing diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, which is crucial to attracting top talent from all backgrounds. But it also means having a laser focus on training and development.
• Sustainability: Can business collaboration help enhance sustainability? The answer is a resounding yes. By reducing unnecessary resource duplication and ensuring that the best sustainability initiatives from individual business units are replicated across the entire organization, a CCO can play a critical role in improving ESG impact. Training and education are also a factor here, as it’s important that all employees are working toward the same sustainability goals.
• Internal communication: Ensuring clear, open, and goal-oriented internal communication is always going to be a key part of a CCO’s role. It’s crucial to achieving any of the above goals and should be a top priority for all large organizations.

What kind of candidate is right for the job?

The ideal candidate for the job of chief collaboration officer will have a strong understanding of your organization, as well as the ability to build relationships with people at all levels. For this reason, looking to promote from within is a good place to start when filling a vacant CCO position.

Internal candidates are more likely to understand the company, people and culture. They’ve seen silos operating in practice – and should have ideas for how to eliminate them!

Aside from this, chief collaboration officer candidates should also have a proven track record of success in leading and managing complex projects and teams. They should enjoy fixing problems and shouldn’t shy away from messy situations or issues that need resolving.

Ensuring collaboration means bringing about organizational change – a process that isn’t comfortable for everyone and will likely cause some short-term tension. But of course, this is just one side of the job.

Your CCO should also be able to spot untapped potential in your people, teasing out hidden talents and using empathy to help employees excel.

So, there you have it – the case for making a chief collaboration officer your next board hire.

If you’re looking for ways to improve productivity, innovation, and employee satisfaction by fostering business collaboration, it’s certainly a proposition worth considering.

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