“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the
most responsive to change.”
– Charles Darwin
Change is the one constant that we all face. You can’t avoid it. But you do have a choice. Will you use change for growth or for deterioration? In my last two articles, I have overviewed the process of change. But, what is characteristic of a leader who leads change successfully?
Which of the following leadership styles fit you?
- Coercion: No choice, no voice, no commitment
- Participation: I’m along for the ride
- Cooperation: I’ll work on your goal
- Collaboration: We’re committed to our goal
The answer to successful change lies in collaborative leadership. So what is collaborative leadership? Recently a colleague shared with me a presentation on Preparing Collaborative Leaders by The University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. I liked how they summarized collaborative relationship. The following components were given:
- Collaborative leadership is the intentional and skillful management of relationships that enables others to succeed individually while accomplishing a collective outcome.
- Collaboration is NOT the outcome or goal. Collaborations are processes that, when successful, align people’s actions to accomplish a goal or solve a problem.
- Collaborative leaders ably facilitate the involvement of two or more people in a group working toward a shared outcome in a manner that reflects collective ownership, authorship, use, or responsibility.
- Collaborative leaders possess knowledge, skills, and dispositions that enable them to carry out leaderful actions such as optimizing assets, seeking new solutions, sustaining focus, promoting trust, or setting and monitoring goals and progress.
So, how would you rate yourself on the above characteristics?
- How are your relationship skills? If you were to ask people on your team, what would they say? A great tool to use for this is a 360 assessment. With this assessment, your superiors, peers and direct reports provide feedback. You can also use behavioral profiles that help you understand how you communicate with others. Assessments then can help you chart a course for your improvement.
- What processes do you use to facilitate collaboration? It is important to identify the right people to include in your collaboration and define your shared outcome for the group. Each person needs to be invested in the outcome and take responsibility. You also need people who can ask good questions and not feel like they already have the answer. Building trust for open and creative dialog is a must. A resource for processes for collaboration is Robert Hargrove’s book, Mastering the Art of Creative Collaboration.
- What knowledge, skills and dispositions do you have or need to develop? There are ways to learn about collaborative leadership and to learn skills to facilitate. But, the ultimate key to success with collaborative leadership is your disposition. This is your attitude or “way of being” when in the midst of collaboration. Great collaborative leaders are skilled at sharing. They share leadership, seek shared understanding and share solutions. Knowledge, skills and disposition can all be developed.
In our world today, change happens rapidly and its impact on our teams and organizations can often be complex. Because of the complexity, one person cannot manage all of the change movement. Collaborative leadership is becoming essential for success to be reached. Where are you collaborating with others? Let me know where I can help you assess and progress your collaborative leadership.