Developing Collaborative Acumen, part 1

This is the secret that doesn’t always get a fair hearing: that leading a collaborative organization of any size takes work and constant attention.

Collaboration — the concept and the practice — is experiencing a renaissance among business leaders these days. Many of our clients are telling us they need to reinvigorate their organizations' ability to work across all kinds of silos, levels, and boundaries. Everybody has to get faster at making smart decisions and much more reliable at implementing change. We call that  "collaborative acumen" — when leaders help people come together, be their best, and get it done.

Now, collaboration reads well in the millions of pages devoted to its potential since the mid-twentieth century. What experts often don’t tell you is how hard it can be for leaders to carry through on their best intentions — despite a true commitment to meaningful involvement for the people in their organizations. Leaders who believe that people together can do more than people apart have a tough road ahead.  This is the secret that doesn’t always get a fair hearing: that leading a collaborative organization of any size takes work and constant attention.

To address that lack, this is the first in a series of hands-on, practical (and brief) blog posts for leaders who want to boost their collaborative acumen in a way that really gets results, while maintaining relationships, and using appropriate processes. In this first post, we’ll do a speedy assessment of your current leadership style.

The Moment of Truth: Are You a Collaborative Leader?

Great leaders grasp that building a collaborative organization needs to be as much a part of their role as building profit and a strategic roadmap for products or services. So, what does it take to be a collaborative leader? Do you have what it takes? Here’s a quick quiz that might give you some ideas: just answer "Yes" or "No" to each question.

1. Do you think that often (not always) a few heads are better than one? 
   
2. Are you genuinely curious to hear how others will respond when you introduce a new idea or plan? 
3. Have you ever asked yourself “I wonder what so-so thinks” and then followed up to find out? 
4. Can you hold your own opinion and still make room for others to express theirs? 
5. Can you change your mind simply because someone had a better idea? 
6. Have you ever said to someone, “You were right, I was wrong”? 
7. Do you have the ability to listen to people’s differing opinions without feeling obligated to come to a conclusion right away?
8. Can you tell the difference between placating someone and giving them your frank opinion about their ideas? 
9. When you enlist people’s participation, do you set boundaries such as what’s on the table and what’s not?
10. When you get negative feedback about your actions or ideas, can you move beyond initial feelings of defensiveness or hurt to inquiry about what the person is telling you?

In general, "yes" answers point to a collaborative mindset. So if you answered "yes" to more than half of these, I'm putting my money on you as a collaborative leader. If you answered "no" more often than not, it's time to take a look at your underlying beliefs about collaboration, because an attitude adjustment may be needed. But even if you answered “yes” to every question, chances are it's extremely difficult to put in practice without tools and behaviors for doing so.

In my next post, we'll look at a simple, elegant way to conduct a stakeholder analysis. You can't collaborate without first identifying who should be involved. Stay tuned for more.