Picking the Right Approach to Digital Collaboration

Many software tools promise to facilitate teamwork — but what suits close-knit colleagues may not help those who need to make connections across the organization.

Paul Leonardi

January 27, 2021

Consider this paradox about digital change: Although it increases the need for collaboration in organizations, it also makes collaborating more difficult. In my research and consulting work, I’ve observed that this happens for three key reasons.

First, it becomes harder to identify the right internal partners. In many organizations in the thick of transformation, particularly agile work environments, employees are given greater latitude to make important decisions on the ground. But when they need help ...