With five generations working side-by-side, growing political polarization, and the challenges of global and hybrid work, companies need better strategies to foster cooperation, increase engagement, and solve complex problems. Academic findings and real-world experience has identified four things successful team leaders can do differently to get superior results. First, regularly remind your team of your shared, superordinate goals. Offer rewards for collective success and show how individual and departmental efforts contribute to the bigger picture. Second, pay attention to the language used in your organization. Encourage the use of collective pronouns and address any disparaging language promptly. Third, review your resource allocation processes. Do they promote collaboration or competition? Does each team have the resources it needs to succeed? Consider implementing profit-sharing or other collective incentive structures. Finally, foster an environment where constructive criticism is encouraged and valued. Leaders should model this behavior by seeking feedback and responding positively to suggestions.

In today’s increasingly diverse and divided workplaces, effective collaboration sometimes feels harder to achieve than ever. With five generations working side-by-side, growing political polarization and the challenges of global and hybrid work, leaders need better strategies to foster cooperation, increase engagement, and solve complex problems.