Many of you operate highly successful, growing companies—places where the work environment is energized and your teams work hard, have fun, and enjoy their jobs. Unfortunately, this type of workplace is too often in the minority.

In survey after survey, many Americans report that they simply do not like their jobs. In fact, according to the Conference Board’s latest survey, only 45% reported that they were satisfied with their jobs, a big decline from the 61% who were satisfied 20 years earlier. This is sad because if you are going to spend the majority of your life doing something, you should enjoy it.

So I got to thinking about the places where I enjoyed my job the most. As I considered them, I realized that the jobs I have enjoyed were ones where the environment was positive and the workplace was collaborative. In general, these were places where employees actually enjoyed working together to achieve common goals.

How do successful leaders create environments where collaboration is the norm and encouraged? Is that even possible in today’s workplace given the pace of work, quantity of the work, and productivity demands placed on today’s workers?

I would say yes it is possible and, in fact, probably what our businesses need now more than ever before. Chances are good if you can create a collaborative work environment for your company, you will see a dramatic increase in productivity and, in turn, job satisfaction (which we all know leads to employees staying with you longer).

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