Do you play well with others? There are a lot of voices today encouraging you to ask yourself this question. HR expert, Susan M., says "accomplishing work is largely about the relationships you develop." Citing Toyota as a current example, the folks at Working With Others warn that not playing well with others can kill your brand. And Steve R. at All Things Workplace argues pretty convincingly that in terms of professional success, it's more important than anything else, including intelligence, abilities or performance. We wouldn't disagree.
When it comes to leadership in an organization, however, we think there's an even more important question:
Do you help others play well together?
To make the case, we'll cite the same research Steve does. A collaborative research project conducted a few years ago by Frost & Sullivan, Verizon, and Microsoft determined that:
"Collaboration is a key driver of overall performance of companies around the world. Its impact is twice as significant as a company’s aggressiveness in pursuing new market opportunities (strategic orientation) and five times as significant as the external market environment (market turbulence).As a general rule, global companies that collaborate better, perform better. Those that collaborate less, do not perform as well. It’s just that simple.”
These researchers were primarily interested in the impact of technology (e.g., email, instant messaging, audio and video conferencing, etc.) on creating a culture of collaboration within a company. And, to be sure, technology can help you do that. But technology can also prevent collaboration from happening. Want an example? Think about the last time somebody in your organization ticked everybody off by saying in an email something inappropriate or immature that he or she would never have said in a face-to-face meeting. Technology can make collaboration easier but it takes leadership to create a truly collaborative culture.
The research shows that collaboration is essential to your organization's success. But it it also key to becoming a renewable organization. And, frankly, it's just a lot more fun to work in a place where collaboration is happening. As a leader, what are you doing to help people play well together?
Here are four essential leadership practices that we see leaders using to create a more collaborative culture and a more renewable organization:
- Bring people together by asking purposeful questions. Keep people coming back again and again to the thing that holds them together - your shared purpose, principles, and direction. Ask questions like Why are we doing this? How is what we're doing and/or the way we're doing this supporting our vision?
- When you have a choice, use participative processes instead of taking an autocratic approach. There are some decisions you're going to have to make and some actions you're going to have to take on your own. That's true, for example, in an emergency situation and/or when somebody's safety is on the line. But it is NOT the case most of the time. Give people a place at the table. Let their voices be heard. Allow their insights and creativity to make a real difference. A general rule of thumb is: The more important the issue is, the more important it is to get people involved.
- Get serious about working playfully. If you're not having fun, nobody is. And fun is essential to collaboration. Without it, people can't let their guard down enough to hear somebody else's idea and they won't get vulnerable enough to share their own. Bring your sense of humor to work with you. Take your shared purpose seriously but stop taking yourself so seriously. Unbutton your tie (or pop the tab out of that clerical collar). Smile more.
- Love 'em! And let that love ignite a passion in them for each other and your shared work. In a lot of cases people hesitate to bring their best selves to your common work because they can't see themselves or their own gifts clearly enough. In some cases, they resist collaboration because they can't see each other. So help them. For example, when you bring a group of people together to make a decision or take action, start your first gathering by going around the table and telling each person exactly why you asked him or her to be there. Then, throughout the project, tell stories about what's happening and why. Help people see themselves (and each other) by seeing the difference they're making.
What would you add to this list?
Make the shift to a renewable way of living and working together! Learn more about Essential 21st Century Leadership Practices in the online workshops we're offering this spring. In the workshop on Using Participative Processes (kicking off March 23), for example, you'll learn:
- "Participative Process" is not code for everybody gets to decide everything;
- How to shut down the bullies without scaring everybody else in the room;
- As a leader, you don't have to choose between being an autocrat or a wimp.
Click here for registration info!
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