"Leadership is like beauty; its hard to define, but you know it when you see it" Warren Bennis

“Leadership is a process of influence that generates the commitment and capabilities required to translate vision into reality.”

Collaborative leadership is crucial for leading in uncertain and turbulent times. Leading in turbulent times requires a deliberate shift away from command-and-control towards a more collaborative style of leadership. When talking about leadership here, we’re referring to leadership as a verb and not a noun. We’re talking about leadership as the social process shared by all members of an enterprise. We’re not the person at the top of an enterprise’s organisational structure!

If you are considering making the shift towards a more collaborative leadership approach you may be asking yourself, “What are the practices that support collaborative leadership?” Good question. In this post we will briefly explore the 11 practices of collaborative leaders.

1. Passionate Purpose and Vision

Collaborative leaders create an environment where people can unite behind a common purpose, vision and set of values. Clear and compelling purpose, vision and values are essential. They unite people and provide guidance as to the goals and standards of behaviour. Passion begins with the leader, unless the leader is passionate and leads by example others will be reluctant to follow.

Having a purpose and vision is necessary, but it’s not sufficient. Vision and purpose must be supported by passion. Collaborative leaders have passion for a cause. It’s passion that drives people to initiate, to act and draws them into conversations about the best ways to create a new future. It’s passion that causes people to step up to a challenge, to take on ambitious responsibilities and accept risk. Seek out people who are passionate about the purpose and vision of the enterprise and help the participate in bringing the vision into reality.

2. Accept You’re Not in Control

The reality is a leader in never in control. Leaders are unable to command the commitment and passion required for success. People may comply when you’re around, but they only commit as the result of inspiring leadership and a meaningful cause. Moving towards collaborative leadership requires you moving away from the thinking that leadership is about control. Making the shift from “command-and-control” is not easy, but it’s critical if you want to develop a more collaborative leadership style.

Collaborative leadership demands that leaders, lead without the safety of authority, position and hierarchy. This requires that leaders let go of their need to control and embrace an alternative a collaborative leadership style.

Collaborative leadership begins with the understanding that although you cannot change others you can change yourself. You can change your leadership philosophy, your leadership behaviours and develop a new set of leadership beliefs and skills. The bottom line is that collaborative leadership starts with you and your example. It’s a decision you must make and begins with a change in your mindset, behaviours and the example you set for the team and your enterprise.

3. Flatten Your Enterprise Structures

Flat organisational structures have fewer levels of management with more people reporting into a single manager. This supports a fast, reliable communication and increased collaboration when compared to tall, deep structures. Flat structures are more agile and flexible as a result of faster decision making. However to be successful flat structures require more competent employees as higher levels of responsibility is placed on each individual. Collaborative leaders seek to flatten their enterprises structures allowing individuals to take more responsibility, increased accountability for decision making and power to initiate change.

4. Lead Horizontally

Collaborative leadership is about breaking down silos and building trust based cross-functional relationships. This requires a shift in thinking about who’s your team. Instead of seeing your team as consisting only of your direct reports you must learn to embrace the horizontal team consisting of your peers. Your peers, those leading and working in other functional disciplines, is your team. Leading a horizontal team requires influence and strong relatiopnships. To lead outside your area of responsibility and accountability is the hall mark of collaborative leadership.

5. Develop Leaders at All Levels

Unless we invest massively in the development of leadership at all levels we’ll be stuck with command-and-control as the primary way of getting things done. We’ll constrain the extent to which the enterprise could embrace collaborative leadership. Sadly, many enterprises have historically underinvested in the development of the necessary leadership skills required throughout the organisational structures to navigate in complex, ambiguous and uncertain times.

Collaborative leaders focus intensely on the development of leaders at all levels of the enterprise. Everyone is a leader. Everyone is expected to take responsibility to lead. Everyone is developed to become a leader. Collaborative leaders commit to the development leaders at all levels. Letting go of control and sharing power gives other the opportunity to step up and develop their leadership skills.

One of the best ways to develop leader is through leadership experiences. This means viewing mistakes as a learning and development opportunities. It means placing your best leaders on your biggest opportunities, rather than your biggest problems. It means rotating individuals so they lead outside their comfort zone and to encourage them to lead strategic projects.

6. Build a Foundation of Trust

Trust is the foundation of effective team work and collaboration. When trust fails, leadership fails. All the dysfunctions of teams as described by Patrick Lencioni – the lack of accountability, fear of commitment, lack of conflict and the avoidance of accountability – are a result of the absence of trust. Trust is the foundation of successful team work and collaboration.

Trust does not “just happen” as the result of spending time with others. Trust needs to be deliberately nurtured and developed. Trust is a choice we make about someone, it’s a belief in the competence, reliability, integrity and character of another person. To encourage trust you need to be trustworthy, it’s a two way street. Collaborative leadership have the courage required to trust others, to risk being vulnerable  and to expose who you are and what the stand for to others.

7. Encourage Risk Taking

Developing leaders at all levels means encouraging people to take initiative and the implications of that is we need to take risk. When individuals feel trusted and secure they’re open to risk taking. This is a good thing. Thoughtful risk taking by individuals and teams is necessary for creativity, innovation, learning and growth. Without this enterprises find themselves stuck in the mire of process, procedure, bureaucracy and the status quo. When individuals feel free to take risk they spend less of their time figuring out how to cover their asses and devote more time to driving change.

8. Lead with Questions

When you lead with questions you’re trading control for collaboration. Information and knowledge is spread throughout the enterprise in different silos. To leverage this information require shifting the leadership role from providing the answers to asking questions. Effective questions opens up the conversation and the search for creative new solutions. Effective questions engage people in meaningful conversations. Conversation is how groups think. Effective questions generate conversation. Collaborative leaders bring people together in conversation around the enterprises biggest opportunities.

9. Share Information Broadly

Information is the lifeblood of any enterprise. Sharing information widely places everyone on same level, it encourages responsibility and collaboration. A continuous stream of information about customers, suppliers, markets improves agility and decision making at all levels.

There was a time when information was seen as a source of power and many hoarded and withheld information. However collaborative leaders share information generously. This gives others the information they need to confidently step into leadership roles and take responsibility for initiating change.

Sharing information broadly contributes to building an environment of trust. Without information people feel isolated and tend to make up their own version of reality. This leads to gossip and rumours that undermine trust and leadership effectiveness. Collaborative leaders share information creating an environment of trust and openness.

10. Support Transparent Decision Making

Collaborative leadership requires that leaders share power and allows individuals to contribute and influence decisions. Collaborative leaders are clear about who makes decisions, how decisions will be made, who is accountable for the outcomes and how others can participate in the process. When decision making processes are transparent people spend less time questioning decisions and commit their energy to implementation.

Collaborative leaders create processes and systems that support participation in decision making. Transparent decision making processes empower individuals and teams with the authority to make decisions. They develop supporting  principles, values and decision making criteria as decision making guidelines. This empowers individuals and teams by providing the necessary decision making processes and frameworks in which they can execute their decision making authority.

When individuals are involved in decision making they get a deeper understanding of the issues, challenges and constraints that influence decisions. When people feel their voice has been considered they’re more likely support the decision. This builds the commitment necessary in support of the decisions implementation. Transparent decision making creates buy-in, builds trust.

11. Encourage Constructive Conflict

The active sharing of diverse perspectives provides a richer understanding of what’s happening resulting in better decisions and outcomes. It’s when we combine different ideas, perspectives and understanding that we gain insight. But such insight is hard won – it occurs as the result of difficult conversations around conflicting issues and concerns.

Encouraging constructive conflict in an environment where people are free to raise tough issues, to provide raw feedback to their leaders and team members is essential. Without open and constructive conflict innovation fails, decision making stumbles and creative solutions become scarce.

Collaborative leaders invest in building the interpersonal skills necessary for constructive conflict in themselves and others throughout the organisation. They celebrate diversity and welcome new and challenging perspectives with the goal of finding innovative solutions.

Conclusion

Leading in turbulent times requires a deliberate shift from command-and-control towards a collaborative style of leadership. This is easier said than done. It demands that individuals at all levels take initiative and act in ways that supports the achievement of the vision, purpose and objectives of the enterprise. The freedom to take risk, to fail, to engage in constructive conflict, to participate in decision making and to experiment, to learn and innovate. All this is the result of collaborative leadership.

Being a leader is perhaps the hardest challenge any of us will ever face. No matter how long we work at it, practicing the right behaviors is a never-ending task. Knowing – and avoiding – the wrong ones is too. Thus, we offer the following six common leadership pitfalls:

1. Not Giving Self-Confidence its Due.

Self-confidence is the lifeblood of success. When people have it, they’re bold. They try new things, offer ideas, exude positive energy, and cooperate with their colleagues instead of surreptitiously attempting to bring them down. When they lack self-confidence, it’s just the opposite. People cower. They plod. And they spread negativity with every word and gesture.

But all too often leaders ignore (or neglect) this very basic fact of the human condition. Why is anyone’s guess. Perhaps they just don’t understand that it is part of their job to instill self-confidence in their people. It may even be said that it’s their first job. You cannot unleash the creative power of individuals who doubt themselves.

Fortunately, some people seem to be born with self-confidence. Others gain it from life and work experience and come to a company fully loaded. Regardless, leaders can never stop pouring self-confidence into their teams. The ways to do so are myriad. Make sure goals are challenging – but achievable. Give effusive positive feedback. Remind your direct reports of what they do right.

We’re not saying that leaders should blindly extol and exalt. People know when they’re being gamed. But good leaders work relentlessly to find ways to instill self-confidence in those around them. They know it’s the gift that never stops giving.

2. Muzzling Voice.

Perhaps the most frustrating way that leaders underperform is by over-talking. That is, they act like know-it-alls. They can tell you how the world works, what corporate is thinking, how it will backfire if you try this or that, and why you can’t possibly change the product one iota. Sometimes such blowhards get their swagger from a few positive experiences, but usually they’re just victims of their own destructive personalities.

Ultimately, the company ends up being a victim too, because know-it-alls aren’t just insufferable, they’re dangerous. They don’t listen, and that deafness makes it very hard for new ideas to get debated, expanded upon, or improved. No single person, no matter how smart, can take a business to its apex. For that, you need every voice to be heard.

3. Acting Phony.

Can you spot a phony? Of course you can – and so can your people. Indeed, if there is one widespread human capability, it is sniffing out someone who is putting on airs, pretending to be who they’re not, or just keeping their real self hidden. Yet too many leaders spend way too much time creating personas that put a wall between them and their employees. What a waste.

Because authenticity is what makes people love you. Visibly grappling with tough problems, sweating the details, laughing, and caring – those are the activities that make people respond and feel engaged with what you’re saying. Sure, some people will tell you that being mysterious grants you power as a leader. In reality, all it generates is fear. And who wants to motivate that way?

Now, obviously, authenticity is unattractive if it’s coupled with immaturity or an overdose of informality. And organizations generally don’t like people who are too emotionally unbounded – i.e. so real that all their feelings are exposed. They tend to tamp that kind of intensity down a bit. And that’s not a bad thing, as work is work and, more than at home, allows us to maintain some privacy.

But don’t let convention wring all the authenticity out of you, especially as you climb the ladder. In time, humanity always wins. Your team and bosses come to know who you are in your soul, what kind of people you attract and what kind of performance you want from everyone. Your realness will make you accessible; you will connect and you will inspire. You will lead.

4. Lacking the Guts to Differentiate.

You only have to be in business a few weeks to know that not all investment opportunities are created equal. But some leaders can’t face that reality, and so they sprinkle their resources like cheese on a pizza, a little bit everywhere.

As a result, promising growth opportunities too often don’t get the outsized infusions of cash and people they need. If they did, someone might get offended during the resource allocation process. Someone – as in the manager of a weak business or the sponsor of a dubious investment proposal.

But leaders who don’t differentiate do the most damage when it comes to people. Unwilling to deliver candid, rigorous performance reviews, they give every employee the same kind of bland, mushy, “nice job” sign-off. Then, when rewards are doled out, they give star performers little more than the laggards. Now, you can call this egalitarian approach kind, or fair – as these lousy leaders usually do – but it’s really just weakness. And when it comes to building a thriving organization where people have the chance to grow and succeed, weakness just doesn’t cut it.


5. Fixation on Results at the Expense of Values.

Everyone knows that leaders deliver. Oratory and inspiration without results equal…well, a whole lot of nothing. But leaders are committing a real dereliction of duties if all they care about are the numbers. They also have to care about how those numbers came to be. Were the right behaviors practiced? Was the company’s culture of integrity honored? Were people taken care of properly? Was the law obeyed, in both letter and spirit?

Values are a funny thing in business. Companies love to talk about them. They love to hang them up on plaques in the lobby and boast about them to potential hires and customers. But they’re meaningless if leaders don’t live and breathe them. Sometimes that can take courage. It can mean letting go of a top performer who’s a brute to his colleagues, or not promoting a star who doesn’t share her best ideas with the team. That’s hard.

And yet if you’re a leader, this is a sin you cannot squint away. When you nail your results, make sure you can also report back to a crowded room: We did this the right way, according to our values.

6. Skipping the Fun Part

What is it about celebrating that makes managers so nervous? Maybe throwing a party doesn’t seem professional, or it makes people worry that they won’t look serious to the powers that be, or that, if things get too happy in the office, people will stop working their tails off.

Whatever the reason, too many leaders don’t celebrate enough. To be clear here, we do not define celebrating as conducting one of those stilted little company-orchestrated events that everyone hates, in which the whole team is marched out to a local restaurant for an evening of forced merriment when they’d rather be home. We’re talking about sending a team to Disney World with their families, or giving each team member tickets to a show or a movie, or handing each member of the team a new iPod.

What a lost opportunity. Celebrating makes people feel like winners and creates an atmosphere of recognition and positive energy. Imagine a team winning the World Series without champagne spraying everywhere. You can’t! And yet companies win all the time and let it go without so much as a high-five.

Work is too much a part of life not to recognize the moments of achievement. Grab as many as you can. Make a big deal out of them.

That’s part of a leader’s job too – the fun part.