4 Keys to Being a Collaborative Leader

Are you a collaborative leader?

It was obvious from watching Congress recently try and fail to lead us out of the U.S. debt mess that the word “collaborate” was not in their vocabulary.

In the Julyl/August issue of the Harvard Business Review researchers Hermina Ibarra and Morten T. Hansen, discuss the need for leaders to transition out of ‘command and control’ mode and become more inclusive, cooperative and collaborative.

According to the authors, there are

4 Keys to Being a Collaborative Leader

1. Connect people and ideas outside the organization to those inside.
“To connect their organizations to the wider world, collaborative leaders develop contacts not only in the typical areas – local clubs, industry associations, and customer and supplier relations – but beyond them,” write Ibarra and Hansen.
2. Leverage diverse talent.
Back in the days when “command and control” was in vogue leadership was a matter of getting everybody to toe the line. Not any more. Mining the creativity and talent of a a diverse workforce comprised of different ages, races, genders and cultures leaders requires a leader who is not only open to ideas other than their own, but actively solicits them.
3. Model collaborative behavior at the top.
“Depoliticizing senior management so that executives are rewarded for collaborating rather than promoting their individual agendas is an absolute essential,” according to the authors.
4. Keep teams from becoming mired in debate.
The downside to creating a collaborative culture is that the process of gathering ideas and input can go on way too long. Leaders need to recognize when it’s time to “end the discussion and make the final call.”

“Leaders today must be able to harness ideas, people and resources from across boundaries of all kinds,” according to Ibarra and Hansen. “That requires reinventing their talent strategies and building strong connections both inside and outside their organizations.

Make it a great week!

Barbara Burke

Copyright 2011 Barbara Burke. All Rights Reserved.