Political and Cultural awareness is one of the key leadership skills required to manage projects successfully. August NC PMI leadership meeting focused on "Building a Culture of Collaboration". Heather A. Yurko, Cultural Architect, Cisco Systems, talked about how enterprises focus on building collaborative cultive and leveage for project success.

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Building a Culture of
Collaboration
8 August 2013
Heather A. Yurko, MA
Cultural Architect, Cisco

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• Change agent for almost two decades
• Coach, trainer, PM, Innovation Lead
• More than ½ career as a consultant
• Built two start-ups
Builder of
People,
Process +
Organizations
• Site sponsor for Innovation in IT
• Received IT Leadership award (2012)
• Focus on collaborative leadership, shared
objectives, co-innovation
Innovation +
Collaboration
Leader
• Masters: Organizational Development
• Columbia University – Teachers College
• 12-month Executive Development
Program (2011)
Education
Heather Yurko
Cultural Architect

3. 3
A Primer on Collaboration +
Culture: What It Is, What It Isn’t,
and Why You Need to Care
How Did THAT Happen? A
Cautionary Tale + the Cultural
Elements Needed to Drive
Collaboration
Idea Jam!
Bringing Ideas to Life through a
Four Step Model
Getting from Here to There in
your Organization: Key
Takeaways + Applications

4. 4
A Primer on Collaboration + Culture
What It Is, What It Isn’t, Why You Need to Care

5. 55
kəˌlæbəˌreɪʃən (n.) - the act of working with
another or others towards a common goal

6. 6
Not just tools…
Culture
Trust
Sharing
Partnerships
Process & Metrics
Formal Process
Track Resulting Benefits
Leadership
Benefits Explained
Examples
Incentives
Technology/Tools
Access
Document Management
Communication
Information Search
Knowledge Capture
Successful
Collaboration

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Other Organizations
Other Locations
Other Functions
Same Function
Alone
Execs work alone 2/3rd of the time
63% expect to collaborate across
functions, organizations, locations

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IBM CEO Study 2012
“[CEO] focus is shifting to the power and
potential of recent advances in social
media and analytics to reimagine
connections among people — whether
that‟s customers, employees, partners,
investors or the world at large."
~ Ginni Rometty
President and Chief Executive Officer, IBM
Corporation
IBM CIO Study 2011
• CIOs lead IT operations that help expand
organizational capabilities by refining
business processes and enhancing
enterprisewide collaboration.
• Advanced collaboration suites with an
array of functions…are critical enablers
for these CIOs.

9. 99
ˌkəl-chər (n.) - the characteristic features of everyday
existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by
people in a place or time

10. 1010
the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices
that characterizes an institution or organization

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Business Imperatives
9.57:1
Engaged:Disengaged
Employees
(World-Class Org)
1.83:1
Average Org Ratio$300B
Lost productivity in the
U.S. alone through
disengagement
3.9x
More earnings per
share:
top vs. bottom quartile
companies
SOURCE: 30 yr. Employee Engagement study, Gallup

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How Did THAT Happen?
A Cautionary Tale + Cultural Elements
Needed to Drive Collaborative Innovation

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We need to build a pipeline of ideas to find „the
next big thing‟.

14. 1414

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How long did this
take?
Any elements/steps
missing?
What was the
result?

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6
months:
inception
to idea
selected
4
developed
+ viable
ideas
$10M
projected
cost
avoidance
PM Fired
Team
Disbanded

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Culture is an
ecosystem, a group
of interconnected
parts. Changing
any element will
effect one or more
of the others.

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Idea Jam Session
Flexing Your Ideation Muscles

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Select your Topic (2)
Create 10 Questions (5)
Create 3 Solutions (10)
Create a Problem Statement (3)

20. 20

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PROBLEM STATEMENT: We don’t leverage technological advances in
mobility to promote a more collaborative culture.
Questions:
• How can we leverage mobile solutions to advance a more collaborative
culture?
• How are our competitors leveraging mobile solutions?
• What services could we offer to our customer that advance a more
collaborative culture through mobility?
Answers:
• Create an app that sends daily reminders about things you can do to
build a more collaborative culture
• Tweeting about building an collaborative culture
• Provide mobile (BYOD) solutions to our workforce that allows them
freedom to work [and be inspired ] anywhere
• Apple provides iPads + VDIs to their employees, allowing freedom to
work anywhere, any time
• Google has all of its information in the cloud, allowing freedom to work
from any device….

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Getting from Here to There in Your
Organization
Key Takeaways and Applications

23. 2323
One Team
One Vision
Services & Capabilities delivered through the
network as the platform1
Honesty &
Forthrightness2
 Open Communication/straight to the point
 Clear Expectations, goals, roles, and direction
Commitment to
Excellence3
 Relentless pursuit of excellence in Talent, Product
Delivery & Customer Service
Teamwork
4
 Help each other succeed
 Build trusting relationships
Result
Orientation5
 Focus on results rather than activities
 Focus on success rather than comfort
Learning
Organization6
 Create a diverse and inclusive environment that drives
innovations and fosters collaboration.
 Find ways to do things faster and better

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AUG11 NOV11 FEB 12 APR 12
Innovation & Excellence 92% 94% 88% 82%
Career Development 88% 95% 80% 85%
Recognition 79% 78% 64% 71%
Manager Index (Culture) 89% 89% 88% 89%
HIGHLIGHTS LOWLIGHTS
96% “Takes ethical business concerns seriously”
“Management team share Pulse results”
95% “Positive relationship with manager”
94% “Manager available when I have questions
or need help”
“Put more effort than required to help Cisco
succeed”
66% “Internal development
opportunities available in my org”
61% “People rewarded according to
performance + accomplishments”
59% “Rewards are worth the effort”

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WHAT YOU SAID
• “This is really helpful.. Similar
sessions on Other services area
can be more helpful to understand
the big picture of CC LSS”
WHAT WE’RE DOING
• Brown bag sessions started for the
team regarding various services
areas.
• “Including the Business
perspective in our meetings is
great!”
• Continuing to bring in client
speakers for fireside chats with the
team.

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Engaged
People
Spot
$$
Site
Awards
Peer
Awards
Email
Stretch
Assignments
Visibility
Opp.
Staff
MeetingsBlog
Post
Phone
Call
Org
Awards

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Collaborate,
Collaborate,
Collaborate
Disengaged
employees
>$300B/ year
Cultural
elements are
connected
Innovation
aligned to
culture
Feed into PLC
(Collaborate!)
Host Idea Jams!
Define Culture,
Listen, Act,
Reward

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For me it is only the
surrounding atmosphere
that gives subjects their
true value.
~ Monet

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Thank you.

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The 12 Elements of Great Culture