Collaboration: At a Tipping Point?

Collaboration is at the center of an important shift in a business world increasingly caught up in the shift away from autocratic leadership to more decentralized models.

As Interaction Associates celebrates our 40th anniversary in 2009, four decades as the leading innovator of collaboration methods that help clients achieve critical business results, we’re watching how collaboration is reaching a critical tipping point. A rapidly growing cadre of leaders across the world — in business and elsewhere, including government — now view collaboration as vital for empowering individuals and for driving change. And, they're speaking up about it in clear and powerful terms.

Before I say more about tipping points, I need to let you in on a little something. As part of our 40th anniversary, Interaction Associates will make an exciting announcement in the coming months — something that we view as our 40th anniversary gift to our raving fans and to the wider business community. Collaboration is at the core of that — and I ask that you stay tuned for news that I am certain you will find to be practical and useful.

Now, about collaboration's tipping point. More evidence of that comes from none other than The White House itself — and a recent executive memo from President Obama directing cabinet secretaries and agency heads to focus on collaboration to make government work better, smarter, and more effectively.

The President's memo makes the case clearly: "Collaboration actively engages Americans in the work of their Government. Executive departments and agencies should use innovative tools, methods, and systems to cooperate among themselves, across all levels of Government, and with nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individuals in the private sector."

Talk about music to my ears.

The President's memo also emphasizes transparency and participation, but his focus on collaboration — and not just the technologies that enable collaboration — is part of that powerful tipping point that I mentioned earlier.

Collaboration clearly is front and center for the powerful way that it transforms work cultures and impacts bottom line priorities. At Interaction Associates, we've innovated many different methods that help work cultures become both highly collaborative and highly productive.

I’ve blogged on this topic before — and the important point I want to reiterate is about collaboration and leadership.

Collaboration is at the center of an important shift in a business world increasingly caught up in the shift away from autocratic leadership to more decentralized models. For many leaders, the shift away from command and control raises a central dilemma: How do you get things done and drive an organization forward — are you supposed to coax and convince your people?

Here’s the key point. Collaboration is not about shifting from command and control to coax and cajole. Instead, collaboration is an essential tool for the new kind of business leader — the facilitative leader — one who engages relevant stakeholders in solving problems collaboratively and works to build a more collaborative culture in his or her organization or community. The facilitative leader makes conscious choices about how much collaboration is appropriate for each decision, and delegates accordingly. The facilitative leader is able to help the organization get more with less, while also staying on track and driving it forward.

Take a mini self-test to see if you’re a collaborative leader. Can you answer yes to most of these questions?

• Are employees engaged, effective, and productive?
• Are they bringing their fully authentic selves to the workplace?
• Do they share a sense of pride and ownership in the work?
• Are decisions being made with all the relevant input needed to ensure they’re both smart and strategic?
• Is change being implemented smoothly and effectively?
• Is feedback regularly exchanged for performance improvement in our organization?
• Has anyone given me feedback in the last month?

Look for more from us on this topic. And here’s the link [4] to President Obama's memo urging a more collaborative leadership posture in government.