According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, “Synergy is the combined power of a group of things when they are working together that is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately.”
In the past, I’ve worked with teams that have developed visible synergy. In planning meetings, ideas went from a few-word concept to a full-blown strategy with timelines and tactics, in sometimes a matter of minutes! You could watch it unfold over pages of sticky chart paper, which covered the walls by the end of the meeting.
Synergy doesn’t just happen. It is intentionally cultivated in a team or organization, whose members are selected for what they can bring to the dynamic. The same is true, however, for teams that are stagnant and don’t have synergy.
So, what makes the difference between synergy and stagnation? While there may be other contributing factors, the criteria that a leader uses to select the members of their team are a big one. And to call it out, it is rooted in the confidence and competence of the leader themselves, as those determine what criteria he/she/they select.
A highly effective leader, who is both confident and competent, sees value in building diverse teams—diverse in age, race/ethnicity, gender identity, cultural background, education, and so on. And to take it one step further, those leaders intentionally include people who think differently and have opinions that may be in opposition to those of the leader.
The leader who is confident and competent avoids developing a team that simply reflects his/her/their views and opinions. Avoiding this confirmation bias situation and inviting diverse thinking into the room creates an opportunity for new ideas and prevents “groupthink” in the process.
How does the diversity lead to synergy? With one last essential ingredient: a culture of psychological safety and trust. The leader needs to foster an environment where everyone’s ideas are encouraged to be shared and considered, without fear. When ideas are shared openly, a diverse team can build upon them, flesh them out, and test them for viability on their own merit. If something isn’t workable, it’s not a a negative reflection on the person who put it in the room.
If you want to get to synergy, you need to have a culture that invites diversity, is inclusive and provides equitable opportunity for everyone to contribute to the conversation.