Collaborative Leadership
Collaborative leadership is all about collaborative problem-solving and decision-making or can also be defined as the leadership of a collaborative effort. . The term started to appear in the mid-1990s in response to the formation of long term public-private partnerships to rebuild public infrastructure. Learn how you can use principles of collaborative leadership to enhance your leadership skills for being an effective leader.
What is Collaborative Leadership?
There could be two ways to define collaborative leadership, first, it could be the leadership of a collaborative effort and second, it could be leadership as a collaborative effort. The term Collaborative Leadership describes an emerging body of theory and management practice which is focused on the leadership skills and attributes needed to deliver results across organizational boundaries. Collaboration is a purposeful relationship in which all parties strategically choose to cooperate in order to accomplish a shared outcome. A collaborative leader is the one who has the ability to take responsibility for a heterogeneous team to accomplish a shared need/purpose. Collaboration requires managers to achieve success through people and resources outside their control.
Some common themes that appear from these definitions are listed below:
1. There exists a common purpose or shared need
2. Successful outcome of the shared need depends on contributions from the heterogeneous team, more or less in the nature of voluntary contributions
3. Everyone is on an equal footing and enjoys the same rights and responsibilities
4. All need to work together to solve a problem, create something new, or run an organization or initiative; different talents or abilities are called for success
5. The leader is not the formal leader, does not have absolute control of the group, but has assumed the responsibility for guiding and coordinating the process by which the group decides upon and carries out actions to accomplish its goals
6. Leadership is permanently shared by all or several, members of the group. Group guides itself
Characteristics of Collaborative Leaders:
1. Willingness to take risks, finds the personal motive for collaborating
2. Eager listeners and likes building relationships
3. Passion for the cause; have long term vision
4. Optimistic about the future
5. Able to share knowledge, power, and credit
6. Effective Communicators; ability to simplify complex situations for the group
7. Ability to handle group conflict
8. Ability to motivate, inject energy, passion, and drive into the team
Situations where Effective:
1. Public-Private Partnerships
2. Global Supply Chains
3. Civic collaboration to solve complex community problems
4. On-line collaboration – Linux, Wikipedia, etc.
5. Political collaboration to tackle global issues such as the credit crunch, climate change, and terrorism
6. Situations where problems are serious and complex
7. Situations when there are a number of diverse stakeholders
8. Situations when stakeholders have varied interests
9. Situations when an issue affects a whole organization or a whole community
Leadership Tasks for Collaborative Leader:
1. Inspiring commitment and action
2. Proving guidance and helps people develop the vision and passion
3. Facilitator and a great problem solver
4. Inclusiveness/building broad-based involvement
5. Motivation and participation
6. Fostering close relationships among staff members
7. Restating arguments, ideas, or issues so that everyone's clear on them
8. Ensuring all voices are heard
9. Keeping the focus on what's best for the group
10. Helping the group to identify and obtain the necessary resources to do the work
Related Links
You May Also Like
-
“Level 5 Leadership”, this term was coined by Jim Collins in his book “Good to Great” and it is all about achieving "Greatness" as a leader. This article will explain what we mean by Level 5 Leadership and what the characteristics of a Level 5 leader are. What it takes to achieve greatness as a leader, and what are the steps and strategies that one can use to move up to this top level of leadership.
-
Adaptive leadership is a style of leadership that emphasizes the importance of each and every person and role within the company. Adaptive leadership views the organization as an ever-changing, living organization, where employees can learn, adapt, and grow. Adaptive leaders mobilize people towards a common goal and also have the courage to experiment with new ideas and approaches. Adaptive leadership is the practice of mobilizing groups of people to tackle tough challenges and thrive. Learn how to adopt this style and how to become an adaptive leader!
-
Appreciative leaders encourage contributions from those around them and facilitate the discussion to mutually solve problems. Understand the concept of Appreciative Leadership and learn about tools to create and ask powerful questions - that lead to new discoveries and possibilities. Instead of focusing on what’s wrong in the workplace, learn about, and build upon what works. Learn in this article the art to apply appreciative inquiry to specific situations and challenges at your workplace.
-
Bureaucratic leadership relies on a clear chain of command and strict regulations. Bureaucratic leadership style is a very decent style for work involving serious safety risks, such as handling toxic substances, moving large objects. The focus is on compliance with rules and laid down procedures to make sure that the group is doing their job correctly and safely. Learn some advantages and disadvantages of this style and situations in which this style could prove to be effective.
-
What are the functions which a leader does to establish as a leader? What are the activities undertaken by them to become great leaders, rather revolutionary leaders? The most important tasks done by a leader in all situations are defining the vision, mission, and goals, leading the team, administrative functions, motivating followers, decision making and conflict resolution, and continuous development.
-
Charles Darwin had once commented that “It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change.” Agility means the capability of rapidly and efficiently adapting to changes and recently, agility has been applied in the context of software development, agile enterprise, and agile leadership. Agile leaders play an important, even essential, role in scaling agility in an organization. Understand how being an agile leader helps in effectively catalyzing organizational change.
-
Crisis leadership is a very important part of leading in today's world. The skills a leader needs in order to guide people during a crisis are different from the skills needed to help a group grow. Are you a good crisis leader? What is your leadership style in case of a business crisis situation? A business crisis can test the strongest of leaders, read this article to explore how to ensure you’re ready to take action and weather the storm when one strikes you.
-
Understanding of how individuals of different cultures interact with each other is very important. Not all individuals can adapt to the leadership styles expected in a different culture whether that culture is organizational or national. In a fast-paced business environment, developing a richer understanding and sensitivity to other cultures is a skill that leaders must possess. Learn to be effective in a cross-cultural setting.
-
Emergent leadership occurs when a group member is not appointed or elected as leader, but rather that person steps up as the leader over time within-group interactions. Have you ever faced challenges in getting accepted into your new role of position as a leader? Groups don't automatically accept a new "boss" as a leader. Emergent leadership is what you must do when taking over a new group. Learn more about emergent leadership.
-
This style is characterized by leaders making decisions for others and expecting followers to follow instructions. The directive leader is adept at giving instructions, setting expectations, and establishing timelines and performance standards. However, it is possible for the same leaders to display both directive and supportive behavior as per the demands of the situation.
