Today's organisations operate in an increasingly interconnected environment where success depends on how well people collaborate across functions, departments, organisations and even industries. As Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital transformation, hybrid work, complex stakeholder expectations and rapid business changes reshape the workplace, collaboration has become a critical core capability for achieving innovation, agility and sustainable performance.

Despite recognising its importance, many organisations continue to struggle with organisational silos, ineffective communication, low trust and fragmented decision-making. Traditional teamwork approaches are no longer sufficient for solving today's complex business challenges. Organisations need professionals who can collaborate strategically, influence without authority, build trusted relationships and mobilise collective intelligence to achieve shared outcomes.

The Art of Strategic Collaboration is a highly practical one-day executive programme designed to help managers, executives and professionals build these essential capabilities. Built around the C.O.R.E. Collaboration Framework, participants will learn practical strategies for strengthening workplace relationships, enhancing cross-functional collaboration, resolving differences constructively and creating greater value through collective success. The programme also draws practical insights from Zheng He’s Art of Collaboration, Sun Tzu's strategic thinking, Confucian principles of harmony and trust, and Kaizen's philosophy of continuous improvement to provide participants with a holistic and practical approach to collaboration.

Objective

At the end of the course, the participants will be able to

• Understand why strategic collaboration has become a critical capability for organisational success in today's interconnected workplace.
• Apply the C.O.R.E. Collaboration Framework to build stronger relationships, align stakeholders and achieve shared business outcomes.
• Connect people and organise around shared purpose to strengthen collaboration with effective communication, trust-building, influence and constructive conflict management.
• Resolve differences and strengthen partnerships effectively across teams, departments and organisational boundaries to improve innovation, decision-making and execution.
• Execute together with other stakeholders for sustainable success by developing a practical Collaboration Action Blueprint for immediate workplace application.

Outline

Introduction: Why Collaboration Has Become the New Competitive Advantage

Module 1. Building the Foundation for Strategic Collaboration

1.1 The changing world of work and collaboration
1.2 Why collaboration is the new competitive advantage
1.3 Why traditional teamwork is no longer enough
1.4 Introducing the C.O.R.E. Collaboration Framework

Module 2. C.O. – Connect People and Organise Around Shared Purpose

2.1 Building trust and psychological safety
2.2 Creating shared purpose and stakeholder alignment
2.3 Communicating and influencing across teams
2.4 Applying Zheng He’s Art of Collaboration to build trusted partnerships
2.5 Collaboration Simulation: Solving a cross-functional business challenge

Module 3. R. – Resolve Differences and Strengthen Partnerships

3.1 Understanding collaboration barriers and organisational silos
3.2 Managing constructive disagreements and difficult conversations
3.3 Negotiating win-win outcomes and shared accountability
3.4 Confucian Harmony and Sun Tzu's Alliance Strategy for sustainable collaboration
3.5 Collaboration Challenge: Achieving results through strategic partnerships

Module 4. E. – Execute Together for Sustainable Success

4.1 Collaborating in hybrid, digital and AI-enabled workplaces
4.2 Building a culture of continuous collaboration and improvement through Kaizen
4.3 Strengthening organisational agility through collaboration
4.4 Developing Teamwork and workplace collaboration with AI
4.5 Developing My Collaboration Action Blueprint

Conclusion – Journey Towards Becoming a Strategic Collaborator

Who should attend

Managers, Assistant Managers, Supervisors, Team Leaders, Project Leaders, Project Managers, Government Officers, HR Professionals, Learning & Development Professionals, Executives, Professionals, High-Potential Employees and anyone responsible for leading or working in cross-functional teams, collaborative projects or stakeholder partnerships.

Methodology

Mini-lectures, collaboration self-assessment, collaboration challenge, case studies, collaboration simulations, group discussions, experiential learning, peer sharing and Personal Collaboration Action Blueprint.

Speaker Profile

Steven Koh has spent more than 33 years helping organisations strengthen leadership, workplace learning and organisational effectiveness through collaboration, learning and innovation. Throughout his career, he has worked with government agencies, multinational corporations, SMEs and educational institutions to develop collaborative leaders, transform workplaces and build high-performing learning cultures. These experiences inspired him to develop The Art of Strategic Collaboration, a programme that equips today’s professionals with the capabilities to work effectively across teams, functions and organisational boundaries.

Steven brings together a unique combination of collaboration, community building, workplace transformation, AI adoption and adult education. As an Adjunct Faculty with a renowned university, he continues to develop leaders through executive programmes. He has also served as an Adult Educator Mentor, Adjunct Trainer, Special Interest Group Chair and Special Interest Group Ambassador with a national higher institute for adult learning, where he facilitated collaboration among adult educators, industry practitioners and learning professionals to strengthen professional practice and organisational capabilities.

Over the course of his career, Steven has developed more than 50 professional development programmes and trained over 50,000 leaders, managers and professionals. Beyond training, he has personally initiated and facilitated numerous successful inter-organisational and interpersonal collaborations, bringing together organisations, professionals, community leaders and business partners to build trusted partnerships and create shared value.

He is also the founder of one of Singapore‘s largest professional learning communities, bringing together over 5,000 leaders and professionals to learn, share and grow together. These experiences have given him first-hand insights into what makes collaboration succeed in practice. The C.O.R.E. Collaboration Framework introduced in this programme reflects these practical lessons, enabling participants to Connect People, Organise Around Shared Purpose, Resolve Differences and Execute Together for sustainable organisational success.

Steven holds a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science & Information Systems) from the National University of Singapore, a Master of Business from RMIT University, and is recognised as a Specialist Adult Educator (Curriculum Development) and a Fellow of The Institute of Training and Occupational Learning (United Kingdom). His multidisciplinary background in leadership, business, technology, community building and adult education enables him to help professionals translate collaboration principles into practical workplace strategies that create measurable organisational value.