The support team

In 1967, Ringo Starr made an astute observation: “Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends … gonna try with a little help from my friends.”

Who cares that he wasn’t referring to the best way to transplant a liner or finding an improved marketing message. The sentiment is the same – you need a little help from your friends. (I love how I can find spot-on advice in so many Beatles lyrics. But that’s a conversation for another time.) I know I’ve said it on this page before, but I still marvel at how this industry bands together and shares information for the good of everyone. And in 15 years of covering this industry, you still don’t disappoint me!

I was reminded of this special characteristic that the green industry possesses after our “Uncensored: Inside the Business of Horticulture” event in September. We brought together nearly 60 greenhouse and nursery owners or managers to discuss the most critical topics facing the industry. We have extensive coverage of the event and insights from the discussions throughout this issue. Speaking of Uncensored, watch for more information later this year regarding plans for our 2017 event. If you’re interested in attending, please call or email me to learn more.

While our core group who met this past fall made it look easy, some folks have trouble creating a collaborative environment. Some of you who openly share with colleagues may not see this same practice in your own business among managers.

Lynda Gratton and Tamara J. Erickson wrote a detailed account for Harvard Business Review on how to build collaborative teams. Here are eight key factors:

1. Investing in signature relationship practices. Executives can encourage collaborative behavior by making highly visible investments—in facilities with open floor plans to foster communication, for example—that demonstrate their commitment to collaboration.
2. Modeling collaborative behavior. At companies where the senior executives demonstrate highly collaborative behavior themselves, teams collaborate well.
3. Creating a “gift culture.” Mentoring and coaching—especially on an informal basis—help people build the networks they need to work across corporate boundaries.
4. Ensuring the requisite skills. Human resources departments that teach employees how to build relationships, communicate well, and resolve conflicts creatively can have a major impact on team collaboration.
5. Supporting a strong sense of community. When people feel a sense of community, they are more comfortable reaching out to others and more likely to share knowledge.
6. Assigning team leaders that are both task- and relationship-oriented. The debate has traditionally focused on whether a task or a relationship orientation creates better leadership, but in fact both are key to successfully leading a team. Leaning more heavily on a task orientation at the outset of a project and shifting toward a relationship orientation once the work is in full swing works best.
7. Building on heritage relationships. When too many team members are strangers, people may be reluctant to share knowledge. The best practice is to put at least a few people who know one another on the team.
8. Understanding role clarity and task ambiguity. Cooperation increases when the roles of individual team members are sharply defined yet the team is given latitude on how to achieve the task.

Read the entire story at http://bit.ly/1Pu61jh.