The Benefits of Being Collaborative

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. Do you realize one of the best strategies to ensure you reach your career goals is to first collaborate with others to help them reach their goals ? I know. It probably seems counter-intuitive to expect that in this age of fast pace, ever changing work dynamics, you need to consider how you can help other people be successful. Why? Because it is only when you reach out to help someone solve a challenge do they really began to understand all that you have to offer. The more others know about your skills due to a personal interaction, the more they will want to collaborate with you. However, let me be clear. The act of being collaborative must be sincere and authentic if you desire to achieve cooperation and reciprocation. Over the years as I have worked to hone my ability to be an effective leader, I have discovered a profound truth. I have discovered that the benefits of being collaborative far outweigh the travails of going it alone, 99 percent of the time. Demonstrating a collaborative leadership style is hard work but the benefits can far outweigh the effort you will make. Benefits of Being a Collaborative Leader: It is the best strategy to lock out the competition. If the best people work together to create the best products and services, who can outdo you? Innovation is created because better ideas are produced when your leadership allows the flow of ideas from a group of people to surface Your stature as a leader grows as your ability to get others to work effectively together improves The speed and response of your team or organization to meet demand and customer needs is significantly improved

The reality is that todays flattened organizations demand that people learn to collaborate if the organization expects to succeed. Look around and you will see that the day of the individual contributor is slowly disappearing from the way of doing business. So, how much of a collaborative leader will you be?

3 Secrets to Creating Your Desired Collaborative Environment

Leadership is unlocking peoples potential to become better Bill Bradley There is no doubt that most organizations are experiencing change at an unprecedented pace. Collaboration skills is the new weapon of distinction amongst leaders who desire to get to the next level of performance. As a leader in todays challe nging environment, you are responsible for helping people create success despite all the chaos that constant change brings. Your leadership style will determine the attractiveness others will find in partnering and collaborating with you. There are some key areas that need to be addressed when attempting to achieve a collaborative relationship with others. The

following 3 Secrets will enlighten you on exactly what you are getting into when you decide to brand yourself as a Collaborative Leader. 3 Secrets Collaborative Leaders Must Understand: Secret #1 People are attracted to your personality and your ability to engage them. If you dont like people or prefer not to interact with people, you are going to struggle in your quest to become a collaborative leader. Introverts can still apply for the role of being collaborative but in doing so you are stating your willlingness to come out of your comfort zone when it comes to interacting with people. You cannot fake being a collaborator. People will immediately see through any phony effort. Either you are or you arent. There is no middle ground. Secret #2 To simply say that you are a collaborative leader is not enough. Leave the ego at the door. There must be proof of your statement with a track record of working effectively with others. How many teams or assignments have you successfully lead that involved utilizing the skills of others to reach success? To be collaborative or to be in collaboration with others means it is not about you. It is about us. To be effective at using a collaborative leadership style means you understand it is not about me, the name of the game to success is about we. Everyone must participate in order to be considered part of a collaborative effort. Secret #3 You must have the ablity to work with all types of difficult persons and within all types of challenging environments. Leadership is a much needed skill in todays confusing workplace. A collaborative leadership style of leading is in even more demand. Why? People are searching for the type of leader who is willing to allow them to bring value to the discussion. This leader has no concerns about what I look like, what my ethnic background is, what my gender is. People want to be recognized for what they bring to the table. What makes this type of environment difficult is the collaborative leader must be astute in recognizing that at the end of the day, we all want what we want. So if I am willing to view you as a contributor based on your knowledge and experitise alone, I also understand that you are going to also bring your preferences and cultural differences along with you. At some point, these attributes will show up and I have to be ready to deal with it as the collaborative leader to make sure the team and the project doesnt lose ground. Being a collaborative leader is hard work. Make no mistake. But the rewards are priceless. Now that you know the secrets, are you sure you still want to be known as a collaborative leader?

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Tags: change, Collaboration, collaborative, collaborative leaders, collaborative leadership style, leadership Comments (3)

3 Responses to 3 Secrets to Creating Your Desired Collaborative Environment

1. Creating a Culture of Collaborative Leadership | Dealing with Difficult People Blog Says:
March 19th, 2010 at 5:21 pm

[...] Let us examine collaborative leadership, and how it responds to change. It is clear that the way forward for organizations is change, and to take the lead in that change. Rather than proving all the answers, todays leaders need to create a culture of collaboration within the organization, many answers can be found from the work team members themselves. These ideas can flow freely provided that trust, appreciation, openness and transparency had been established within the ranks. Ideas can be generated with the best minds and right talent put together. It is best to pool ideas, resources, efforts and commitment of several minds than relying on only one point of view. Todays leadership role is to facilitate an open exchange of ideas and encourage collaboration, instead of clinging to an authoritarian position and keeping full control. By creating a channel for open discussion and sharing of solutions, a leader encourages maximum participation from everyone.The present generation in the workforce want the opportunity to share their ideas, and demonstrate their leadership potential. When a leader provides the forum, and listens to the views of team members, overall motivation is increased. When a leader takes the opportunity to understand and acknowledge individual strengths, the best solutions can be discovered. By approaching decisions in this way, a collaborative leadership approach ensures the desired business results.Leaders will face the choice between when to lead and when to relinquish control to encourage everyone to collaborate. However, you have to be aware that changing leadership styles is never easy and cannot be done overnight. The solution for recovery from the economic crisis faced at this time, can only be found through working and leading collaboratively. At the end of the day, business will see the benefit of creating a culture of collaboration. [...]

The New Workplace Demands A Collaborative Leadership Style

No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it. H.E. Luccock

The hierarchal style of leading organizations is dying out. New leadership skills must be learned in order to keep up with the vertical organizational structures of the future. Leaders are struggling with how to create a collaborative culture that is focused on the long term success of the organization. This article discusses the leadership solutions that will assist leaders in accelerating their learning curve of using collaboration techniques to reverse the lack of teamwork that exists in most organizations. Creating opportunities for todays diverse workplace to work in a more collaborative manner is the i deal method leaders need to focus on. The art of collaboration needs to be taught at every level within an organization in order to ensure long term success. When the economy was booming and jobs were plentiful, individual talent was enough to help an aspiring leader leap frog to the top of an organization. Todays reality is that individual talent can no longer serve as the criteria for upward movement. Leaders of the future must be well versed in how to lead others in a collaborative manner. What has changed in the workplace that creates the need for greater collaboration? Organizations that are thriving have discovered that the old corporate hierarchal structure is evolving into a vertical model. In order to survive, organizations must get people working together in a more collaborative approach to solve the challenges . Placing a focus on teams and groups to ensure the best ideas surface and are implemented is proving to be a more efficient way of working. The requirement to work lean and mean, with fewer people resources is the new leadership mantra. In order to create a culture where collaboration becomes the catalyst for achieving greater business results, leaders must learn: How to influence the behaviors of others to ensure their contributions achieve high performance results How to communicate in a manner that people find engaging and inspirational

Influencing the behaviors of others for the purpose of achieving greater collaboration requires leaders to first demonstrate the behaviors they desire. Do you behave in a collaborative manner with your peers? Your staff watches your interactions with your peers to determine how sincere you are about working well with others for the good of the organization. To be the effective role model as a leader in this area you must: Be willing to openly and confidently share your ideas without concern for getting immediate credit Be open to opportunities to help someone else take on a leadership role Be cognizant of finding opportunities to actively engage others to share their insight

Communication remains the number one weakness of most leaders today. Collaborative leaders understand that their communication style must inspire others to want give more. The ability to engage others in a manner that creates synergy and teamwork is so needed. To be a good collaborative communicator you must: Find out what matters most to your staff regarding their career aspirations Find ways to demonstrate that you understand how to engage with all types of people Find opportunities to discuss the real world challenges your organization faces in a manner that is authentic and inspiring

Are you ready to learn to be the collaborative type of leader that is so needed today?

Leadership Behaviors that Create Future Success

A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. John C. Maxwell Leaders have a tremendous amount of influence over what they want to happen in the workplace. The problem is most leaders struggle with leading through influence. Too many leaders are still trying to lead by position power. Todays workforce is composed of four generations of workers. These workers are more discerning in their choice to follow leaders blindly. Todays leaders must demonstrate leadership behaviors that people find engaging and approachable if they expect compliance. Your title or place on the organization chart are no longer enough to get people to follow your direction. After all, most people are concerned about their future, so they will be reluctant to initiate your direction if they dont understand whats in it for them to be successful. So what are leaders suppose to do to continue to create success for themselves and the organization? Here are some examples of the leadership behaviors people must see you consistently demonstrate: - Engage others by first asking, and then actively listening to the responses ,when you ask the viewpoint of others about the current challenges. People want to feel heard and they are yearning for leaders who sincerely want to hear what they have to say. -Communicate your desire to serve as a leader who understands the solutions to the challenges must come from every level within the organization. Everyone has something to contribute. -Demonstrate your willingness to collaborate outside of your normal network to show you understand the need to open up the lines of communication. People are watching to see if you are walking the talk concerning the critical importance of collaboration to turn results around. -Be open to receiving feedback on the effectiveness of your current leadership communication style. Once people trust that they can be candid, they will be vocal about how you are or are not helping them create solutions. -Create opportunities for people to demonstrate leadership in new ways. Innovation is the solution for the future so empower people and get out of the way. Successful leaders will be able to look back and clearly identify when their team, department, or business unit turned the corner on delivering consistent business results if they would actively demonstrate these leadership behaviors. Are you ready to leap frog your leadership presence?