I used to be the admin for an IT Department based at a New York City non-profit. Most of the department had been with the organization for well over ten years when I joined in 2010. The department had a great dynamic because most of its members had known one another for so long. There were even members who were brought into the organization by a friend or an associate. Together, the department created a team. The Lesson 6 Module explains that “a team has a mission or goal to achieve, and all members of the team are involved in the process of achieving that goal,” and that could not have been truer for the IT team (2020). We all worked individually and together to achieve the organization’s goals and the goals of our department. Everyone understood what was expected of them and completed the tasks and assignments of their role. As the Lesson 6 Module states, “teamwork is the process of achieving the team’s mission,” and the department consistently demonstrated its success with teamwork (2020).

Our team had synergy. Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014) define synergy as “a cooperative or combined action, and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for a common cause” (p. 266). The IT team was diverse because it included people of different genders, cultures, races, ages, attitudes, and beliefs. The team managed to have both surface-level and deep-level diversity within its ranks. The team also collaborated frequently on projects, tasks, and assignments that advanced the team’s mission and corresponded to the organization’s mission. The team’s dynamic was great because the group had cohesion and regularly exceeded the outlined goals. However, the team’s synergy came to a sudden halt when it was announced that certain IT support aspects were transferred to an outsourcing vendor.

The initial announcement that the IT team was going to be divided was not met with full support. Not only was the team going to have to incorporate new members, but those members were also going to be located overseas. Additionally, some current members would be transitioned to new roles at the organization. Although Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014) explain that “the differences in the world’s people can lead to mutual growth and accomplishment that is more than the single contribution of each party,” it was hard to understand how the team was going to reach new achievements when it had been split apart and given new group members (p. 266). The Lesson 6 Module describes that “typically when we work with someone new we get frustrated, not because that person doesn’t know the job, but because that person isn’t a true member of the team yet,” and that is how the IT team felt about the four new support staff members (2020).

Luckily, all was not disoriented with the changes within the IT Team. Management knew that the new team needed to be just as successful as the previous team. Therefore, they quickly began getting the team together, virtually to rebuild the group’s synergy. One of the first group activities we did together was a half-day workshop where we got to learn and relearn about one another and our experiences. Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014) state “the sharing of dissimilar perceptions and cultural backgrounds can be used to enhance problem-solving and improve decision-making,” and by participating in these activities and others, the new IT team began to understand and familiarize themselves with the new team members (p. 266).

Overall, the workshops, training classes, and regular status meetings slowly recreated the team’s dynamics once grown accustomed to. The Lesson 6 Module explains that new members will “become familiar with everyone else’s tendencies and end up fitting into the team and being able to contribute to the synergy” (2020). This tactic went both ways as the outsource team, and the New York City team built synergy together to achieve its goals once again. Moran, Abramson, and Moran (2014) state that “team interaction is an energy exchange,” and that was true for the new global IT team (p. 271). We energized each other by working together, valuing our differences, and finding common ground to achieve the department’s goals.

References:

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences. Abingdon: Routledge.

Pennsylvania State University (2020). Lesson 06: Cultural Synergy. OLEAD 410: Leadership in Global Context. Retrieved from

https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2075490/modules/items/29697171

Over my 25+ years in the business world, I have heard the word synergy multiple times.  In the early years, no one knew what it meant.  As time went by, when we heard the word, most often, it meant people were going to be losing their jobs.  The more promotions I received, and as I worked my way into executive management, I understood the importance of synergy.  A great definition this week was stated as “synergy is a cooperative or combined action and occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups collaborate for common cause…to increase effectiveness by sharing perceptions and experiences, insights, and knowledge” (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 266).

Using this thought, culture synergy is taking all the diversity that a group has and determining what best parts of each person will create the most efficient team.  Because the synergy is brought down to the team member level, each person can a direct impact on the choices that are made and the behaviors that are displayed (PSU WC, 2019, L6).  One crucial element that a team leader needs to keep in mind when they are working on synergy is ensuring that an organization’s vision, values, and missions are clearly defined and supported.  It can be somewhat challenging to obtain synergy within a group when you have team members that do not support the organization’s visions or values.

We should also ask ourselves is there a downside to synergy, should we be looking for to make the team act as one instead of the creativity of individuals?  I believe one of the biggest downfalls of synergy within a team is the road in which we get there.  If a leader does not communicate what their expected goals are for a team, instead tries to make the teamwork better through synergies, most likely, the team will fail because the goals that the leader failed to share did not get met (Campbell and Goold, 2014).  The other downside of leaders trying to obtain synergies is the time and effort spent trying to get there.  Instead of a leader realizing the synergies they have, they are distracted by trying to gain more instead of trying to resolve an issue or run their current operations (Campbell and Goold, 2014).

So, as we can see, there are great things and bad things that can be said about synergies.  I do think that they are a good thing and should be explored by leadership; however, I also believe that we should not be so caught up in trying to obtain them that we lose sight of the bigger picture.  As I said in the beginning, I have been involved in main organization changes that we made trying to obtain synergies.  Some have worked out well, and others we lost valuable time trying to undo when it did not work.  The one lesson that I think we all can learn is that we need to understand our teams first before we attempt synergy, we need to see what skillset each individual brings to the table and how effectively it is being used or how we can enhance it for collaboration for the common cause.

References:

Campbell, A., & Goold, M. (2014, August 01). Desperately seeking synergy. Retrieved October 14, 2019, from https://hbr.org/1998/09/desperately-seeking-synergy

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences: Leadership skills and strategies for working in a global world. New York: Elsevier.

PSU World Campus. (2019). Olead 410 Lesson 06: cultural synergy Retrieved from PSU World Campus https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2008449/modules/items/27026977

So, let me tell you about a story from some time ago. It was back in the day, back when I didn’t understand the importance of a team or teamwork. I didn’t understand personalities, and I thought it was my way or the highway. Thankfully that has changed! However, this is a story I like to tell often (I know I have briefly touched on this- but it’s too good not to tell.

It all started the day when I began work at a new dealership. My company had taken over this new dealership and we were there to help build the business back up. There had been a large scandal that had gone on with the prior management and most of the people had been let go (or were sent to jail). Many of the people remaining, didn’t have the best attitude and were extremely hesitant about a new group of management coming in. Can you blame them?
When my boss asked me what I thought we should do, I told him that we should fire the rest of the people remaining and start on a clean slate. Long story short, he told me to slow my roll and taught me to start understanding the dynamics of a team. This lesson taught me a lot, but one of the biggest things I learned was how important it was to find the right people for a team. When you have the right people on a team, it ignites a spark and synergy begins to happen.

I spent the next couple weeks observing how the different teams worked together and paid close attention to the type of work that the teams were producing. I studied the different types of personalities that made up the teams and began to think about where those personalities would work best in order to help bring out the best ability of everyone. What I learned over those next couple weeks was a very valuable lesson. I learned the importance of finding the best person for each team by discovering the talents of each individual. I also learned that removing one person from a team who maybe doesn’t belong, can suddenly remove the negative and turn it into positive synergy. We have all worked with that one person who has been toxic to a team, so we know that introducing the wrong person can have an overall devastating result. However, this doesn’t always mean that there isn’t a spot for this person in the company, sometimes it just means they need a different team to work within, a team that better suits and compliments the talents of that individual.

Lack of synergy is created when there is ineffective communication, poor leadership, bad habits, and egos amongst many other things. All these behaviors were something that we saw with the teams that were in place when we came into the dealership. There had been such poor leadership in the past, no wonder the place was in shambles and people weren’t working well together!

The goal my manager made, was to take the individuals that were left, and form teams that were able to cultivate positive ideas, increase work performance and then let those teams shine. Good leadership is a fundamental piece of team synergy. We learned in our lesson that, “In general, a leader who wants to successfully prevent conflict from harming the organization will create a process that encourages teamwork, provides resources to encourage strong communication, and allows for open discussion of ideas” (PSU, 2018, Lesson 6). My manager was able to successfully create teams where synergy could manifest by knowing the people that were within his organization, teaching them teamwork, understanding their talents and regularly checking in on them to see what was working and what was not.

It is imperative for a leader to know the people who are on the team. The leader should know what their team members excel at and how they work well individually. By being aware of the people that are on their team and their abilities, a leader can successfully put them in a team where they are able to create the most synergy.

When you take an individual, who is good at what they do and then add them to a team that makes them even stronger, synergy begins to happen. But a leader needs to know their staff for that to occur. According to our reading, “Synergy is taking the talents of each individual in the organization and combing them into something greater” (PSU, 2018 Lesson 6). Workplace synergy isn’t just going to occur because the organization has the best of the best technology, it isn’t going to happen because it has all the necessary tools necessary (though it does help). The real reason synergy happens, is because you take the talents of individuals and add them to a team where those talents work well and compliment that styles of the other team members.

What I learned from my time at that dealership was how important it was to find the right teams for individuals to work in. It was about getting to know my team and knowing what each person was best at and finding a place to put them where the real collaboration can happen.

References:
Penn State University. (2018). Lesson 06: Cultural synergy. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942644/modules/items/24935399.

Living in Japan provides you with an opportunity that most Americans are not afforded.  We have been given the gift of experiencing another culture not for just a week or two while on vacation, but for years.  For my family it will be at least 4 years (we have contemplated staying longer).  When arriving in Japan my husband was very concerned that the family would experience culture shock.  While he had traveled extensively with his career, the family had not.  We were moving from a low-synergy society in the United States, plus we lived in a military community to a high synergy society and not everyone wants us here.

After 2 years in Japan I can say that this is one of the most wonderful places I have ever lived.  Everything from the food to the people is absolutely amazing.  On the very long trip over, with 3 children in tow, we were treated with nothing but kindness.  The flight attendants were “benevolent, helpful, friendly and generous” (Moran, Anderson & Moran, 2014, p. 267) to everyone.  To the point where we observed a mother who was traveling alone with her baby, the attendants went as far to hold the baby while she ate, provide a special meal for the child before the main meal was served and even hold him while she used the restroom.

After arriving we chose to enroll our youngest in an International school off the military base instead of the base schools.  The fostering of team work and that those of all levels will perform the same task for the greater good is evident in the school as well as in our observations during our drive to work and school each day.  The school system has an hour and a half lunch, which by American standards is absurd.  The base run school here have a 20-minute lunch and a 20-minute recess.  We loved the idea of our children actually being able to enjoy eating their lunch, what we learned about lunch time in Japan was even more exhilarating.  During their hour and a half lunch the children first have lunch, followed by a period of cleaning the school.  Once they have ALL completed their assigned cleaning tasks then they are able to spend the remainder of the lunch period on “break”.  Thankfully, we had already fostered the children joining us in housework at home so this wasn’t too alien to them, however, I can imagine for many children of ages 6 or 7, it would be.

You also see this amazing team leadership as you drive to work each morning.  Drive by the construction workers and you see them doing a morning stretch or warm up followed by a morning meeting.  Watching them all in unison following their leader’s direction (“lead by example” (Moran, Anderson, & Moran, 2014, p. 290)), smiles on their faces and plastic flowers in pots by the door steps.  Drive by the bank and you will see the employees, often in full suits, out with a broom and a dustpan sweeping up, or watering the flower beds.  Everyone working together with one common goal, one vision in mind.

Another factor that will make it so difficult to leave Japan is the low crime rate.  There are no guns in citizen hands in Japan.  The police officers carry a small hand gun, which is very rarely used.  Children as young as 6 years of age walk themselves to school, picking up classmates along the way.  The roadways are marked with a green stripe along the routes that are frequented by many children walking.  There are even volunteers in yellow vests (typically retirees) who assist with ensuring the younger children safely cross the street, some are placed as far as 7 blocks from the school.

We have become almost terrified of the culture shock that our children will have when we do return to the United States.  At this point they are so accustomed to a high-synergy society we are unsure how they will react to our first few weeks in the United States.  Even I struggled during just a two-week trip back.  When leaving the plane for a transfer in San Francisco I inquired to an airport employee asking which direction the international terminal was.  I was brashly informed, “Can’t you read, the sign is right above you!”.  I was so taken aback and quickly reminded myself, I was no longer in Japan.

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing cultural differences (9th ed.). London: Routledge.

After learning about cultural synergy this week, I was curious to know more about the subject in a global context. Upon research, I came across an article regarding leadership in cultural synergy in Europe that was quite interesting. Harris described, “Synergy is cooperative or combined action. It occurs when diverse or disparate individuals or groups of people collaborate in a common cause. The objective is to increase effectiveness by sharing perceptions and experiences, insights and knowledge” (Harris, 2004). This concept was very familiar to me as a leader myself. The ability to perform better by working together in a somewhat unified way has always proven to be quite successful. My former corporation ran several retail companies in both the US and the UK. However, our companies could not be any different.

In the article Harris discussed high and low energy societies which was quite beneficial when deciphering how synergy translates in other cultures. For example, “A high-synergy corporation is one in which employees cooperate for mutual advantage because the customs and traditions of the corporation or organization support such behavior. In this non-competitive atmosphere, the individual works toward his or her betterment as well as that of the group” (Harris, 2004). My prior organization was very much like this and we all worked toward the greater good of our company. A lot of this is connected to the culture of the company which is built upon integrity, sincerity, and a family feel. Allowing for everyone to play a part and feel important. There was also a commission factor for all sales people. Our managers also owned a percentage of the entire store they ran. All of this enticed members to be accountable to the business and more connected to the needs of the business. There are many organizations in retail however that do not operate like this, such as the one we operated in the UK.

The retail company we ran in the UK was built with a salary compensation structure for all people. There is no incentive to sell more product. They also do not have a long standing heritage like the American retail company we operated. For instance, “A low-synergy business is one that is ruggedly individualistic, insisting on going it alone. It avoids partnerships and agreements with other entities, and finds it difficult to adapt too quickly to change. Employees are not empowered – often systems and policies are more important than the customer or the people. Managers impose “their way” or organizational culture upon others, often to their mutual detriment” (Harris, 2004). Organizations that function through a very individually driven environment create less team work. However in Europe this structure works better. Our employees in the UK have more stable income because there is no fluctuation in commissions earned. This is a perfect example of how

Works Cited

Harris, P. R. (2004). European Leadershipn in Cultural Synergy. Emerald Publishing. Retrieved from Emerald Publishing: https://search-proquest-com.ezaccess.libraries.psu.edu/docview/225420349?pq-origsite=summon&accountid=13158

Remember when Facebook first started and it was the hub for all the cool kids. It was a network of colleges and students that connected people and made making friends easier, by narrowing down by interests, age, and majors. Think of the place in your life you were when you first joined Facebook. Whether it was your clothing style, you hair style or your income, most parts of who you would grow to be were still being developed. Fast forward to today. Some of us have graduated college, but are still on Facebook. Why hasn’t that part of our lives been been elevated too? What are your needs for career growth and interaction? Less about finding where cool parties are and more about earning potential and i’m sure more about finding your passion and aligning with like minded individuals that share your business acumen. The intersection of this transition is one that either many don’t realize or simply don’t talk about, but it’s at the point where you realize your synergy is no longer syncing and you look for ways to reinvent yourself. Sometimes business relationships evolve and what once was working, no longer works. You find yourself exploring the possibility of something different because you aren’t stimulated and the union no longer has the energy that once attracted you. So what now? If you have a healthy level of self awareness, you’ll start to look for opportunities that make you feel the energy that you crave. Enter: The social atmosphere of LINKEDIN! A community of professionals and people who only want to feed you flame. An entire network of people who simply want to network in the way that is mutually beneficial. Once I essentially graduated from the friendly buddy platform of Facebook and ventured to the space of Linkedin, it’s like I didn’t know what I was missing. How much time had I wasted being in the “friend-zone” of my relationships and expecting less of myself and those who I interacted with. It takes a great deal of courage to say that something no longer serves you. And to put yourself out there as a force that craves the energy and attention of others as an investment in yourself.
Montenegrin Journal of Economics says: “Every individual has unique knowledge, i.e. the experiences and values of every individual are unique to each individual. This in turn forms different types of knowledge which can be applied within the organisation for certain purposes. When analysing the knowledge held by the staff of an organisation, terms such as competence, qualification and educational background are usually used. Unfortunately, these terms cannot express the full content of knowledge, which is why Bivainis and Morkvėnas (2008) suggest a broader term. The term ‘knowledge potential’ includes both explicit (e.g. educational background, culture) and tacit knowledge (e.g. skills, competences, experiences) that can be used in analysing synergy processes. Morkvėnas (2010) describes the structure of knowledge potential, distinguishing blocks of explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge as well as synergy formation as the result of the combination of these two types of knowledge.”

It’s energizing seeing how people force is a kinetic power that makes you feel like your entire worth is destined for more. I am sure all of this sounds like an ad for Linkedin, and so what if it does. The point is whether or not we could use something to invigorate us to work to our actual potential and using our networks to do that. Especially if we’ve spent years crafting these friendships, through good times and bad. The least we can do for a friend is endorse their skills.

References
Skačkauskienė, I., Kazlauskienė, E., & Katinienė, A. (2017). Modelling knowledge synergy evaluation. Montenegrin Journal of Economics, 13(1), 35-47. doi:10.14254/1800-5845/2017.13-1.2

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-examples-synergy-business-take-your-from-organic-growth-laurie/

Synergy contributes to the effectiveness and success of organizations by fostering collaboration between different individuals or groups toward a common cause or goal.  “Synergy is about taking the talents of each individual in the organization and combining them into something greater” (Penn State University, 2018, para. 1).  Synergy begins with individuals and then extends to groups and organizations, and in some cases countries (Morgan, Abramson, & Morgan, 2014, p. 266).  Synergy is important because it contributes to a better future or achieving a goal.  “Global leaders actively create a better future through synergistic efforts with fellow professionals” (Morgan, Abramson, & Morgan, 2014, p. 291).

An important piece of creating synergy is the individual.  “A challenge global leaders experience today is how to influence across cultures and functions the individuals with whom they work” (Morgan, Abramson, & Morgan, 2014, p. 288).  Creating synergy is one way to resolve conflict and build success within organizations and groups.  However, what if the leader of a specific group is causing the conflict and other individuals that report to the leader are unable to inspire others due to the leader’s leadership style?  “In general a leader who wants to successfully prevent conflict from harming the organization will create a process that encourages teamwork, provides resources to encourage strong communication, and allows for open discussion of ideas” (Penn State University, 2018, para. 3).  What if there are individuals that want to create synergy and want to encourage teamwork and strong communication but are overshadowed by their top leader that does do or want that?  How is success and working toward a common goal created in a situation such as this?  This is a situation that I have experienced in the workplace and also a situation that I think we see a lot in our world today.  How do we overcome this and create synergy?

In dealing with such situations, taking steps that have been successful in the past are a good start.  Some steps are seeking help, being prepared, being willing to deal with key people in the dispute, understand the business, commit to learning, tell the truth, and never despair (Moran, Abramson, & Moran, 2014, p. 278-9).  Finding ways to deal with leaders that do the opposite of creating synergy is a challenge that I personally would like to know more and learn more about for success in creating a better future for me and the goals I set out to achieve.

References

Moran, R. T., Abramson, N. R., & Moran, S. V. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences. (9^th ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

Penn State University. (2018). Lesson 06: Cultural synergy. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/1942644/modules/items/24935399.

(Image courtesy of usatodayhss.com)

Synergy is something the remains very special to the success of a team. “Synergy – the idea that together a team can produce better results, better solutions, than any other person can alone” (Gamble & Gamble, 2013). One of the times that I was a part of synergy was when I played baseball at Vernon Regional Junior College. I was a freshman that played infield, the team was filled with many different players with many different skills. We had players that were fast and slow. We also had players that could hit, throw and think like good baseball players. Our roster was very culturally diverse as many players were from South America, Puerto Rico, and different parts of the U.S.

According to Moran, Abramson, & Moran (2014), “On global teams, it implies every member has the potential to contribute” (p. 266). Every player knew their role in helping the team win games. Often times, players would be utilized for a specific skill set that they provided to benefit the organization. Socially, we also knew that we needed to support the uniqueness of our team in order to reach our goal. Although we had players that couldn’t speak English we all tried to make it work by getting to know each and our different culture while also knowing what each culture valued. Gamble & Gamble (2013) explains “Whatever a team’s reason for being, in order for a team to maintain itself and realize its goals, the team’s members need to agree on how to work together-for this to occur, they need to figure out how best to relate to one another” (p. 201).

That year, we set a school record for the most wins in a single season while advancing to regional playoffs. We finished the regular season with a record of 41-18, and that record still stands today. I believe the synergy that we created was the reason for our success which can be attributed to the behaviors of collectivism. According to Hofstede & Bond (1988), “Individualism on the one side versus its opposite (Collectivism) on the other. This describes the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onward are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups; often their extended families (with uncles, aunts, and grandparents) continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty (p. 7).

References

Gamble, T. K., & Gamble, M. W. (2013). Leading with communication. Thousand Oaks: Sage.

Hofstede, G., & Bond, M. H. (1988, March 1). The confucius connection: From cultural roots to economic growth. Organizational Dynamics, pp. 5-21.

Moran, R., Abramson, N., & Moran, S. (2014). Managing Cultural Differences (Ninth Edition). Oxford: Routledge.