“The basket that has two handles should be carried by two people.” –Egyptian proverb
I heard this quote at a conference I recently attended. It reminded me of my strong belief in collaborative leadership and its importance as a leadership stone. In truth, I have left many situations--organizations, committees, clubs, friendships—because they violated my overwhelming belief in collaboration.
Let’s take a look at our track record in advancing causes and cultivating constructive change in the very small field of visual impairment, blindness, and deafblindness. It is through the collaborative efforts of those willing to focus on a strong mission and purpose that positive change has occurred. Putting aside personal agendas and focusing on what we have in common has enabled us to agree on a common braille code, for example, and to ensure that those with unique needs receive the services they need.
This leadership stone is one of the most difficult to achieve. I remember a situation when I was principal of a school for the blind. My office was next door to that of the school for the deaf principal, and we got along well. During my time in that position, we were able to greatly improve compliance in state-mandated processes, using a cross-departmental training approach that improved standards in all programs. For example. our counselors worked collaboratively to devise a suicide risk policy that kept our students safe. They also began working school-wide on student events to promote kindness and keep student harassment at bay, connecting students who were deaf and those who were blind in meaningful ways.
That principal left her position to return to the classroom, and the new principal began her tenure by creating and implementing goals and committees for the school for the deaf only. My attempts to approach her about continuing the initiatives that were in place were met with a sound “I don’t think we need those anymore.” I made several more attempts to find common ground and was unable to make any progress. The excitement and energy created through collaboration dwindled.
Did it make a substantial negative difference in our mission to do things separately? I think so. What I found was that energy shifted. Initiatives continued, but the speed at which things were accomplished slowed, and general morale among those who were used to working collaboratively decreased. Eventually, initiatives that were dependent on working together ended completely.
Two substantial benefits to collaboration, then, include making change happen at a respectable rate and improving employee engagement and morale. So why is collaboration so hard to achieve, and how do we go about convincing our colleagues that it is a critical part of a healthy organization?
My hunch about why the collaborative model is so often rejected is that people focus on its perceived negatives. I call these the myths of collaboration. They include:
· It takes too long.
· We’ll get too many ideas if we include others.
· We don’t have enough in common to collaborate.
· I lose my power if I “give in” to collaboration.
· Hierarchical decision making is better because those at the top have the big picture.
Why do I call these myths? They are stories, not truths. They do not take into account the roots of the word collaboration: com- teamed up with laborare to form the Latin word collaborare, or “to labor together.” Laboring together toward a common goal encourages participants to consider other viewpoints and tap into additional knowledge resources. A well-run collaborative project creates energy and a sense of buy-in from the start, since it is inclusive.
A successful leader needs to be an example of collaboration in her day-to-day work. One fruitful example of this is using the technique of round robin when “camps” form around a particular decision or direction. The meeting’s facilitator simply asks each participant to state his or her position about a topic with a short explanation. Everyone speaks, and no one responds to the speaker. It is about listening. I have seen this technique help build compromise without sacrificing principles. Working together toward a decision ensures that you take many points of view into consideration.
Not everything should be accomplished collaboratively, of course. Sometimes a decision must be made on the spot, and sometimes one leader is best equipped to independently make certain decisions. Even in those cases, however, the collaborative leader has been actively learning from her peers so that the information she applies to her decision is based on collective knowledge.