Collaborative Leadership

In the past, high-level executives made decisions that trickled down to staff without providing any insight into how or why those decisions were made. Leaders operated in silos, focusing primarily on the duties directly related to their areas of responsibility.

One can argue, why when leaders are in charge, should they co-operate? Well, in this modern era lone-wolf bosses rarely succeed. While I certainly acknowledge that there are instances where individuals are culturally or experientially predisposed to only respect and respond to a controlling leader, the tide is changing.

So, what is collaborative leadership? It is a process that seeks to break down organizational barriers between managers, executives, and employees where the ‘top dogs’ adopt a more open approach. This leadership style allows for a synergistic team where information is shared with everyone, employees’ perspectives are considered, and the entire team takes ownership of the whole on decisions made.

Think about working in an environment where your leader solicits input from the team before choosing the process for specific projects. Where leadership promotes discussion, analysis, assessment, prioritization, and alignment, leading to a shared vision. Do you think employees will thrive under these conditions? Not only will it benefit of the organization, but I believe that enabling autonomy and empowering employees to actively participate and engage will improve their self-development. Why else did we employ them? Is it just to sit and take instructions? Or did we employ them for their knowledge and expertise contributions?

In today’s team-based and highly networked environment, collaborative leadership is indeed a prerequisite for having a competitive advantage. As I assume the Group Vice President role, I intend to promote team collaboration and leadership to propel us to be smarter, adaptive and more creative. Especially when it comes to tackling the complex, and multi-faceted problems facing businesses today. While positional authority has its time and place, greater effort will be exerted working towards creating an environment where trust, mutual respect and shared aspiration thrives to fuel performance. My vision is to align people, keep us motivated and focused, and sustain high-quality, curious-minded change leadership conversations.

Essentially, collaborative leadership involves a shift from the personal ego to an eco-system. So instead of a top down control, we can inspire or influence. Rather than command, we can engage. Instead of operating in silos and withholding information, we can work together and encourage mutual thought leadership development. In this environment, there is no culture of assigning blame but rather acceptance of responsibility and accountability.

In my experience, there are significant benefits of collaborative leadership. However, one style does not fit all. True skill lies in knowing when to employ a particular style to a particular challenge. Ultimately, we must be visionary and transformational to create sustainability.