How Synergy Affects the Workplace

The word "synergy" was invented by Buckmister Fuller by combining the words' synthesis and energy.  It indicates a combination of an asset that ends up being greater than the sum of their individual parts.  In the workplace, synergy is created by coworkers who combine their talents to achieve things that they couldn't achieve individually.

Cooperation

When a work force is able to create synergy in the workplace, cooperation between individuals begins to flow easily, and people can see clearly the advantages to everyone working together.  A synergistic dynamic involves more than a group of people in the same  place at the same time doing the same thing; this is merely duplication of labor.  A synergistic group combines energies in a more dynamic and innovative way, by assigning task to each person that are more appropriate to her skills, thereby maximizing the usefulness of each person's participation.

Inspiration

When a person is working on a project alone, inspiration may occur spontaneously, but he/she lacks the intellectual and artistic in spit of other people's minds.  In a synergistic workplace, inspiration is more likely because each participant is presented with the diverse ideas of his co-creators.  Being exposed to the methods and goals of others gives a person the opportunity to learn new things and build on them. This can be an inspiring process in which each member of a team is inspired to try new things by the other members.

Communication

Communication is a central aspect of synergy, and synergy helps to broaden and improve communication.  The free exchange of ideas is essential to developing a synergistic workplace in which people's ideas and talents blend into a larger whole.  When something that is qualitatively different than any individual contribution emerges from the group, this is a sign that synergy is at work.  This only happens when individuals share their ideas through written, verbal and visual communication.  When everyone realizes the universal benefits that come from synergy, they become more enthusiastic about contributing to the process.

Efficiency

Efficiency is an important aspect of the success of the workplace.  Duplication of efforts costs a company money and serves no useful purpose.  A synergistic workplace integrates the skills and advances of individuals to create a single drive towards a business or innovation goal.  This process increases workplace efficiency, reducing duplicated labor and improving employee motivation to contribute.  Even malingers will contribute more when they are part of a dynamic team that is expecting their participation. Unlike a cubicle office culture in which individual are lost in the bureaucracy, a synergistic workplace needs the dynamic participation of every individual.