How Blistex Used Situational Awareness Training to Improve Collaboration, Reduce Assumptions, and Support Organizational Transformation

For organizations operating in highly competitive markets, success depends on more than great products and strong execution. It depends on how effectively people communicate, collaborate, and make decisions together.

As a privately held, third-generation family company with a proud 80-year history, Blistex has built a reputation for delivering trusted products while maintaining the agility and entrepreneurial spirit often associated with smaller organizations.

As the company continued to modernize its operations and implement new systems, leadership recognized an opportunity to strengthen communication and collaboration across key business functions.

To support these goals, Blistex partnered with TrainSMART to develop a customized learning experience focused on situational awareness, cross-functional communication, and collaborative decision-making.

The engagement was led by TrainSMART consultant Greg Bliss and designed specifically to help employees better understand how information flows throughout the organization, reduce communication breakdowns, and strengthen alignment across teams.

The Challenge

Blistex operates with a lean, relatively flat organizational structure that encourages agility and responsiveness.

Within the commercial side of the business, teams from:

  • Sales
  • Marketing
  • Regulatory Affairs

Regularly collaborate on initiatives that directly impact product launches, customer relationships, compliance requirements, and business performance.

While the company’s flat structure creates many advantages, it also presents unique communication challenges.

Leadership identified a recurring issue that was affecting collaboration:

Situational Awareness

Employees often possessed deep expertise within their own functional areas but had limited visibility into the priorities, pressures, constraints, and decision-making processes occurring in other departments.

This sometimes led to:

  • Assumptions being made between teams
  • Misinterpretation of priorities
  • Frustration during cross-functional projects
  • Information being lost in translation
  • Communication gaps between organizational levels
  • Challenges in adapting communication styles for different audiences

As the company undertook a major modernization effort, including implementing new enterprise systems and process improvements, leadership recognized that strengthening communication would become increasingly important.

The organization wanted employees to:

  • Better understand the perspectives of other departments
  • Improve communication across functional boundaries
  • Reduce assumptions and misunderstandings
  • Strengthen collaboration
  • Improve decision-making effectiveness
  • Create greater ownership and accountability across teams

At the same time, leadership wanted the learning experience to be engaging, practical, and enjoyable.

Given the increased workload and pace of organizational change, the session needed to energize employees rather than feel like another mandatory meeting.

TrainSMART’s Approach

TrainSMART partnered with Blistex leadership to design a customized:

  • Situational Awareness and Cross-Functional Communication Workshop
  • Rather than delivering a traditional lecture-based communication course,

TrainSMART proposed an experiential learning model focused on participation, discussion, and real-world application.

The primary objective was not to teach employees what they do.

It was to improve how they work together.

The workshop was intentionally designed around the organization’s existing cultural theme:

Winning Together

This concept became the foundation for the learning experience and reinforced the idea that organizational success depends on collaboration across functions rather than individual departmental achievements.

A Learning Lab Experience

To maximize engagement, TrainSMART developed the session as a:

Collaborative Learning Lab

Participants were immersed in a realistic business simulation that reflected the types of communication and decision-making challenges they encounter every day.

The workshop combined:

  • Team activities
  • Cross-functional collaboration exercises
  • Strategic discussion
  • Communication simulations
  • Business decision-making scenarios

The learning environment encouraged employees to actively participate, share perspectives, and experience firsthand how information moves throughout an organization.

Building Situational Awareness Through Experience

A central focus of the engagement involved helping participants understand how assumptions develop and how communication gaps emerge between departments.

Instead of discussing these issues theoretically, employees experienced them directly through a customized business case study.

The case study was intentionally designed to align with the organization’s business environment and strategic approach.

Participants worked through a simulated innovation initiative similar to the types of projects frequently encountered within the company.

The scenario reflected challenges associated with:

  • Product development
  • Market opportunities
  • Internal decision-making
  • Cross-functional coordination

Rather than focusing on finding the “right answer,” the exercise focused on how information was communicated between individuals, departments, and leadership levels.

Following Information Through the Organization

One of the most powerful aspects of the workshop involved demonstrating how information changes as it moves through an organization.

Participants experienced communication from multiple perspectives, including:

  • Individual contributors
  • Managers
  • Functional leaders
  • Executive stakeholders

The simulation highlighted how:

  • Assumptions influence interpretation
  • Context is often lost during communication
  • Priorities differ across functions
  • Messaging can become distorted
  • Decisions are impacted by incomplete information

Employees gained a deeper appreciation for the challenges faced by other departments and developed greater awareness of how their own communication behaviors affect others.

Creating Ownership Across Functions

A key design principle of the engagement focused on creating:

Shared Ownership

Rather than having one department “solve” the case study, every participant contributed to the final outcome.

This approach reinforced the idea that successful business outcomes require collaboration across:

  • Sales
  • Marketing
  • Regulatory Affairs
  • Leadership teams

Participants experienced firsthand how collective input improves decision-making and strengthens organizational alignment.

The result was a stronger sense of shared accountability and greater appreciation for cross-functional collaboration.

Supporting Organizational Transformation

The workshop was delivered during a period of significant organizational modernization.

As the company prepared for major operational and technology initiatives, leadership understood that successful transformation depends on more than systems and processes.

It requires employees who can:

  • Communicate effectively
  • Collaborate across functions
  • Adapt to change
  • Understand broader business priorities
  • Make informed decisions

The learning experience helped reinforce these capabilities while supporting the organization’s broader strategic objectives.

The Result

The Situational Awareness workshop provided employees with a practical framework for improving communication and collaboration across the organization.

Participants gained:

  • Greater awareness of cross-functional priorities
  • Improved understanding of organizational communication dynamics
  • Enhanced collaboration skills
  • Reduced reliance on assumptions
  • Stronger appreciation for differing perspectives
  • Increased ownership of communication outcomes

Most importantly, employees developed a deeper understanding of how their actions and communication impact colleagues, projects, and organizational success.

Long-Term Impact

The engagement helped strengthen the foundation for more effective collaboration across the commercial organization.

By improving situational awareness and communication effectiveness, the company positioned employees to better support:

  • Cross-functional initiatives
  • Organizational change
  • Strategic decision-making
  • Process modernization
  • Future growth opportunities

The workshop also reinforced the organization’s commitment to its “Winning Together” philosophy by demonstrating the value of collaboration, transparency, and shared accountability.

Why This Matters

Many communication challenges are not caused by poor intentions or lack of effort.

They occur because employees often lack visibility into the priorities, pressures, and realities faced by other teams.

Without situational awareness, organizations frequently experience:

  • Miscommunication
  • Functional silos
  • Assumptions and misunderstandings
  • Delayed decision-making
  • Reduced collaboration

This engagement demonstrates how TrainSMART helps organizations:

  • Improve cross-functional communication
  • Break down organizational silos
  • Strengthen collaboration
  • Build situational awareness
  • Support organizational transformation
  • Create stronger team alignment

For organizations navigating growth, modernization, or change, improving situational awareness can become a powerful catalyst for stronger communication, better decision-making, and more effective collaboration across the business.

Ready to Break Down Silos and Improve Cross-Functional Collaboration?

Many organizations struggle with communication challenges that aren’t caused by a lack of effort—they arise because employees lack visibility into other teams’ priorities, pressures, and perspectives.

When departments operate in isolation, organizations often experience:

  • Communication breakdowns
  • Misaligned priorities
  • Delayed decision-making
  • Frustration between teams
  • Reduced collaboration
  • Slower organizational change

TrainSMART helps organizations build stronger communication, increase situational awareness, and create a culture of collaboration through customized learning experiences designed around your business challenges.

Complete the form below to schedule a consultation and learn how TrainSMART can help your teams communicate more effectively, improve cross-functional collaboration, and support successful organizational transformation.