Can Resource Hoarders Thrive in A Collaborative Work Enviornment?

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Can Resource-Hoarders Thrive in a Collaborative Work Environment?
​To answer this question, you must first understand what drives their hoarding behavior.
 
Resource-sharing increases productivity and collaboration. Resources such as access to physical or digital space, information, support teams, and cash make collaborative work environments run smoothly. However, some prefer to guard rather than share resources others need to perform.
 
Those who guard resources often want something in exchange for providing access to the resource. They use the resource as currency, creating barriers to access and positioning themselves as gatekeepers. This gatekeeper mentality can clog the wheels of even the smoothest business systems.
 
Understanding the big picture is the key to building a collaborative work environment.
 
In Collaborative Leadership, Oxford Leadership Fellow Thomas J. Hurley notes that shifting from a “me” mindset to a “we” mindset is essential for collaborative work environments. But not all gatekeepers are open to making such a shift.
 
I worked with one multinational corporation that experienced a weekly loss of $40,000 in short-term investment returns so that one field office could save $4,000. Let me explain:
 
At the close of business each day, every field office forwarded its daily cash to the short-term investment group at corporate headquarters. While no single office held enough cash overnight to warrant investing the funds, the dividends were significant when the company pooled those funds to invest.
 
One day, the short-term investment group noticed that one of the field offices was forwarding significantly less money to the pool. In response to their inquiries, the field office manager proudly explained that he had made the office’s financial operations more efficient, realizing significant savings of $4,000 per week.
 
But the $4,000 saved cost the company more than $40,000 in short-term investment returns each week. To rectify the situation, the field office manager would have to dismantle the work he had just completed. How to best approach him with this request depends on whether he is an Ego Gatekeeper or a Power Gatekeeper.
 
Managing Ego Gatekeepers
 
Ego Gatekeepers, as the name implies, focus on building their ego. They want to know that others see them as important, valuable contributors to the organization. They like to think of themselves as indispensable to the organization's success and seek public approval. The most effective way to approach an Ego Gatekeeper with a request is to:

1. Stroke their ego. Praise the Ego Gatekeeper’s ingenuity in finding and implementing operational efficiencies, and have a few higher-ups recognize what they did. Such recognition feeds their ego by giving them attention while letting them know that others are watching how they respond. Each stroke to their ego provides a dopamine rush. If your Ego Gatekeeper is a colleague, the more dopamine hits they associate with you, the more they will want to please you. If you supervise an Ego Gatekeeper, immediate praise for collaborative behavior will result in more collaborative behavior, especially when given publicly.

 

1. Shift their focus to the bigger picture. After praising what the Ego Gatekeeper did in their field office, reinforce how the company values such ingenuity in its leaders. If someone in their direct vertical chain of command praises them for seeing the big picture, it will help broaden their view. If someone up the chain of command from a parallel group praises them, it reminds them that leaders throughout the organization are watching their behavior.

 

1. Thank them for educating corporate leaders. Rather than pointing out that the Ego Gatekeeper hurt the company, praise them for revealing a critical issue others had not considered. Focus on the idea that everyone learned a lesson from this experience and that they are grateful to the Ego Gatekeeper for enlightening them.

 

1. Make them your ambassador. Ask to interview the Ego Gatekeeper for the company newsletter or invite them to speak at a regional meeting to educate other field offices on the need to consider the company’s interests first. Since their well-meaning actions exposed this issue, they can be a great spokesperson. Once they become the center of attention, lauded for doing what was best for the company, they will seek such opportunities to benefit the company in the future.

 
Managing Power Gatekeepers
 
Power Gatekeepers focus on building and preserving power. They want power over their role and as much power over others as possible. The organization's success does not concern them. The most effective way to approach a Power Gatekeeper with a request is to:

1. Check Your Assumptions. If you aren’t certain that your employee is a Power Gatekeeper, give them the chance to demonstrate otherwise. They just might surprise you. What looks like a power grab might be insecure behavior. See how they respond to managing their ego first. But don’t beg for their cooperation. Power Gatekeepers see begging as a sign of their power, giving them a dopamine rush that encourages recalcitrance.

 

1. Be Mindful of Boundaries. Before confronting the Power Gatekeeper, consider whether the issue at hand treads on what they consider to be their realm. Recognize that “we” environments threaten the Power Gatekeeper, leading them to dig in their heels. To the Power Gatekeeper, their efficiency is not the problem. The problem is the inefficiency of the other field offices (and the corporation’s tolerance of such inefficiencies), regardless of the financial outcome.

 

1. Exercise Your Power. Power gatekeepers only respect direct orders from direct superiors (those who have the power to fire them). If your team must deal with a Power Gatekeeper, let them know they have your support. They need to be willing to come to you with difficulties. Likewise, you will want to maintain strong relationships with the Power Gatekeeper’s superiors. Only they will be able to influence the Power Gatekeeper’s behavior. In many cases, you need a power solution to a power problem. The field office manager only responded to direct orders from his superiors to dismantle the new system and resume forwarding more cash to the pool.

 

1. Know When You Must Let Them Go. Power Gatekeepers focus on growing control in their sphere of influence, not what is in the company’s best interests. Some Power Gatekeepers survive in collaborative environments despite their behavior because they are highly skilled or highly productive performers. Such toxic performers bring value to the organization in the short term, but their overall toxicity harms the organization in the long run. Highly competent people will leave rather than continue to work with toxic team members. If you have a Power Gatekeeper in your organization, your best path to success is often letting them go.

 
As organizations grow, the need for collaborative work and resource-sharing grows. Teams that focus on the “we” are essential for long-term success because they share resources to best serve the organization. Team members who cannot move past the “me” mindset, hoarding resources as currency, quickly become detrimental to the organization.
 
Managing Ego Gatekeepers and Power Gatekeepers requires deliberate attention to promote collaboration. It is often easier to shift Ego Gatekeepers to a “we” mindset, thus improving collaboration and resource-sharing. But when the “me” focus of your Power Gatekeepers disrupts your “we” environment, encouraging them to leave for another organization is often best for everyone.