collaborative leadership - leading teams for collective impact
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Disclaimer We Care But You’re Responsible. So please be sure to take specialist advice before taking on any of the ideas. This white paper is general in nature and not meant to replace any specific advice. Tracey Ezard of Jessup Ezard ConsulDng and employees of said company and brand derivaDons disclaim all and any liability to any persons whatsoever in respect of anything done by any person in reliance, whether in whole or in part, on this e-‐book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tracey Ezard works with organisaDons that are commiFed to increasing their collaboraDon within and between teams, disciplines and stakeholders.
Building leadership capacity through emoDonal intelligence, neuroleadership and strategic intelligence, Tracey assists senior teams build a collaboraDve culture within their organisaDon. She guides leaders in facilitaDng collaboraDve discussions, co-‐creaDng vision and purpose and innovaDons. She works with mulD disciplinary teams and mulD stakeholder projects that create momentum through their collecDve impact.
As a leadership expert, Tracey uses neuroscience and emoDonal intelligence tools to support her work. She is a dynamic keynote speaker and graphic facilitator who uses visuals to engage and increase collaboraDve input.
Tracey is the author of The Buzz, CreaCng a Thriving and CollaboraCve Staff Learning Culture, wriFen for educaDonal leaders, and is currently wriDng her second book, The CollaboraCon Codex
www.traceyezard.com tracey@traceyezard.com
The imperaDve to make improvements in the educaDonal outcomes for children in Victoria is well and truly in the
spotlight. Increased complexity, social and health issues faced by our community and in our schools is requiring a more
flexible and seamless approach. EducaDonal outcomes have not increased to the extent desired and many vulnerable children are not able to access the educaDon they deserve. With stakeholder consultaDon and evidence based pracDce
clearly highlighDng the need for greater partnership, integraDon and collaboraDon, the management approach of regional and central teams requires a different leadership
paradigm.
Recent large scale restructures within government agencies have created a plaQorm for real reform. Designed to bring the focus to an integrated, place based approach to designing and
delivering services, this shiS marks an exciDng Dme for educaDon in Victoria. A more streamlined service for
stakeholder access and support requires different ways of leading. For the EducaDon Department it is a shiS to a regional model of integraDon of services and mulD-‐
disciplinary teams. EffecDve leadership in this space will be defined by an ability to empathise, connect and build strategic
partnerships.
A DIFFERENT PARADIGM OF LEADERSHIP
Effec1ve leadership in this space will be defined by an ability to empathise, connect
and build strategic partnerships.
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More effecDve responses to stakeholder needs and aspiraDons require us to change business models and re-‐think our leadership approach to planning, problem solving and innovaDon.
The new paradigm of partnership and collaboraDon requires mulD-‐faceted and place based approaches to working. Integrated iniDaDves that are responsive to real need rather than perceived need require mulD-‐disciplinary input that taps into the knowledge of a wide range of professional and stakeholder voices.
Leaders within a bureaucraDc and historically siloed structure and culture need deep support to make this transiDon to an integrated and collaboraDve organisaDon. Developing the skills and structures to engage, explore and implement in a collaboraDve way will assist in the transformaDon of service delivery.
The leadership principles of a collaboraDve approach are quite different to the top down strategy of command and control that has been the hallmark of most organisaDons for the last two hundred years.
The principles of authority, certainty and order that gave us tracDon and growth no longer provide the results we are looking for in an environment full of uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity.
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Leaders and organisaDons moving to a more integrated and collaboraDve model of working face three main systemic challenges:
Increasing mulDdisciplinary and stakeholder involvement in collaboraDve endeavours and decision making (doing with rather than doing to). Building system capability (behaviours and structures). TransiDoning the workforce to a new way of working (adaptability and flexibility).
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The KEY TO SUCCESS
The paradigm of collabora1on and partnership requires us to move from rhetoric to real beliefs and behaviours.
The enhancement of collabora/ve leadership skills -‐ Collabora/ve Intelligence -‐ is essen/al to building mul/ disciplinary teams who connect, create and implement in a truly integrated way.
LEVERAGING COLLABORATION
Whenever a seemingly seismic shiS is required in large organisaDonal change, not only are structures required to adapt, but just as crucially, the behaviours of those in leadership need to as well. The paradigm of collaboraDon and partnership requires us to move from rhetoric to real beliefs and behaviours. OrganisaDons have been talking collaboraDon for many years, yet the small pockets of energy where it is happening are oSen dampened by either structures that sDfle it, or leadership behaviours that quell its ability to strengthen and make real impact.
Leadership Challenge #1 The Need For Control
The command and control style where the soluDons and direcDves come from the leader and the team carries them out suited an age of industrial growth. Inflexible structures and rules with known and consistent outputs gave certainty. A compliance culture of rules, hierarchy and risk aversion created organisaDons that work in a top down approach. Leaders were trained to be ‘right’. The leaders that get tracDon in a collaboraDve environment are those that work at engaging individuals and teams into the excitement of creaDng something where they don’t necessary know what it will look like or what is right. Leaders that sit with this ambiguity possess a willingness not to be in complete control, and to trust in the team’s ability to work collaboraDvely with them to fulfil the higher purpose and outcome.
Leadership Challenge #2 Hierarchy and Silos
We have created over many years clear, hierarchical, and siloed structures. These structures create behaviours which encourage one-‐dimensional and ‘I’ thinking. SoluDons and strategies come from above with the teams carrying out the instrucDons. Through measures, strategies and goals created in isolaDon rather than as an integrated vision, disconnecDon has been created. Leaders and teams default to a ‘defend and bunker down’ approach to working with others, rather than a ‘partner and create’. Staff engagement has been at an all Dme low in many teams, client saDsfacDon in the doldrums. Ego and misuse of power are aFributes that are present from the behaviours of those of influence when this challenge is faced.
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Leadership Challenge #3 Lack of CollaboraCve FacilitaCon skills
Airing challenges, issues and potenDally strong disagreement requires courage and strategic approaches. A leader building their collaboraDve skills hones these skills to guide these discussions. Too oSen meeDngs that bring people together to address issues, or find beFer ways of working are marked by a few dominaDng voices. Others in the room, through past experiences are not game to open their mouths. Agendas and meeDngs become bogged down with ‘safe’ administrivia rather than the real work. Diverse voices and perspecDves are not tapped into and vital knowledge not shared or valued.
Leadership Challenge #4 Doing Different Things the Same Way
CollaboraDon without learning is meaningless. Without learning we stay the same, doing the same thing the same way. Status quo reigns and ‘this is the way we’ve always done it’ is the mantra to which the leader and team adheres. Seeing learning as the domain of HR and the Learning and Development team cements in the belief that learning is only done during professional development sessions. A recent arDcle in Harvard Business Review idenDfies research showing an esDmated $31.5 billion of knowledge is lost from employees failing to share knowledge effecDvely in Fortune 500 companies.
Status quo teams: • Fail to invest in trialing and experimentaDon • Are unwilling to share successes and failures • See knowledge hoarding as power rather than knowledge sharing. • Prefer the safety of doing the same thing they’ve always done. • Don't have the level of trust needed to learn new ways of working.
In /mes of change, learners inherit the Earth, while the learned find themselves beau/fully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
Eric Hoffer
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THE PURPOSE OF AUTHENTIC COLLABORATION
Cross team and cross sector collaboraDon unlocks potenDal unrealised through single dimensional understanding and awareness. When talent, innovaDon and projects are created collecDvely, we build new ways of working that produce superior results.
A culture of working through mulD-‐disciplinary collecDves and increasing client voice is criDcal to success, as we work to address real need, not perceived need. Perceived need is oSen idenDfied by people quite removed from the parDcular context. A lack of understanding of the actual issues, backgrounds and challenges of individuals and collecDves is oSen limited due to siloed views of how to approach challenges. Real need is uncovered through empathy and analysis. Robust dialogue with people inDmately linked with the learners and their families
Unlocking systems, structures and shiSing behaviours that do not support collaboraDon is the first step in creaDng a culture of collecDve capacity and impact. For collaboraDon to work, as leaders we need to believe that collaboraDng is beFer than individuals working at tasks on their own. Leaders who understand and communicate the powerful “WHY” of collaboraDon and integraDon are able to build commitment and buy-‐in.
A culture of collaboraDon fosters the social capital of an organisaDon and its intersecDng stakeholders. It creates iniDaDves and projects that real and lasDng collecDve impact. Norms of collegiality, cooperaDon, sharing, learning together and commitment to purpose replace norms of individualism, ego, power and compeDDon.
A culture of working through mulD-‐disciplinary collecDves and increasing client voice is criDcal to success, as we work to address real need, not perceived need.
True collabora1on is a mee1ng and mixing of skills, perspec1ves, ideas and momentum to solve problems.
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A culture of collabora1on leadership fosters not only the social capital of an organisa1on, but the power of the ini1a1ves and projects to make real and las1ng collec1ve impact.
Norms of collegiality, coopera1on, sharing, learning together and commitment to purpose replace norms of individualism, ego, power and compe11on.
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TOXIC
If we are stuck at this corrosive stage in our collaboraDve endeavours, we are heading backwards as sabotage and acDve resistance is the prevalent modus operandi of people of influence. Power plays and egos run rampant within leadership levels, creaDng havoc with any plans to work together de-‐railed by lack of trust and poor behaviour. Individual agendas outweigh the good of the collecDve and the rules of engagement are extremely vague or not adhered to. The potenDal that people bring to the team is not uDlised or valued. CompeDDon rather than collaboraDon connects people’s work and interacDons.
TERRITORIAL
Territorial leadership is in evidence when leaders approach working beyond their own teams or disciplines with a baFle mentality. Any move to collaboraDon is stymied by strong territorial boundaries and barriers. Systems and decisions that encourage siloed acDons are the norm and status quo is maintained as a form of power. Teams do not align to whole of organisaDon prioriDes as the leaders are looking aSer their own turf. The strategic link between teams is oSen not explicit or leveraged to gain beFer outcomes by leaders. Structures and behaviours of the manager level do not acDvely support connecDon to other teams and managers. CommunicaDon levels in the territorial phase are limited and guarded in nature.
TOKENISTIC
The tokenisDc collaborator is an expert in coordinaDon and management. The terminology of collaboraDon is used but not enacted. CollaboraDon is seen as making sure everyone one is INFORMED of process, rather than INCLUDED in process. Team members and stakeholder groups who are ready to be genuinely integrated into the work are not tapped into. The tokenisDc collaboraDve leader sDll sees their role as the holder of knowledge and decider of strategies. They direct the group from a hierarchical posiDon rather than partnership. The outcome is frustraDon and loss of purpose.
THE LADDER TO COLLABORATIVE LEADERSHIP
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COLLEGIATE
CommunicaDon and empathy increase as a higher level of cooperaDon becomes the norm. As cooperaDon and understanding develops, knowledge and informaDon is shared and discussed. MeeDngs start to contain dialogue that deals with working strategically on operaDonally challenges and moves away from being bogged down in administraDve tasks. Work requirements such as planning are divided between members and teams to use Dme more effecDvely and build consistency. DuplicaDon of thinking and delivery moves toward more collecDve and integrated approaches.
COLLABORATIVE
When a leader reaching the collaboraDve stage, discussion and acDvity are centred on working and learning together to design the quality and thinking behind the collecDve team’s work. The team works together to co-‐create beFer ways of working that result in greater outcomes. The leader fosters a culture of inclusion and collaboraDve purpose. A strong sense of purpose, outcomes and opportunity for ideaDon is present. Trust is strong and allows new ways of working to come to fruiDon. Robust ideological debate is not seen as conflict by the leader, but as a respecQul, professional way to unearth the most useful and effecDve courses of acDon. Failures and mistakes are seen as opportuniDes to fine tune and learn. People from different disciplines see the advantage of listening and learning from each other to innovate and problem solve. Stakeholder voice and a focus on the client in the centre is the key driver to change and approach.
TRANSFORMATIVE
The pinnacle of the collaboraDve leadership conDnuum is a place of learning and growth. Skill building for all collecDve team members is not a comparison of skills but a building of capacity to conDnue to evolve and transform the work of the team. This in turn leads to collecDve impact. The work is handled completely differently as the team learns from the mulDdisciplinary voices around the table. They are able to maximise the power that strong partnerships provide. In a team that is working in such a way there is a high level of trust, learning and quality feedback between peers. It is truly the space of ‘The Whole is Greater Than the Sum of its Parts.’ Diversity of skills and approaches is culDvated and celebrated, and there is a strong sense of “WE” in the culture of the collaboraDon. The client – whichever form that may take, is firmly in the centre. 12
Leading with Collaborative Intelligence
The Collabora1ve Intelligence Model highlights the three cri1cal focus areas of the leader and the use of engagement, alignment and implementa1on to drive collabora1ve momentum.
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3 LEADERSHIP FOCUS POINTS
1. FORWARD
Being strategic is not about long winded plans that bore everyone out of their minds, it’s about acDng strategically to get the outcome required to reach the vision. Clarity of purpose and ensuring the right people are at the table contribuDng means collaboraDve work is focused and deliberate. Hallmarks of this focus are:
• Forward planning and visioning • Clear purpose and outcomes • Constant agile cycles of ac1on, feedback, modifica1on. • Strategic workload management. • Building collabora1ve capability in the team
2. INWARD
The internal mindset and beliefs of collaboraDve leaders drive behaviours that bring out the best in the team. A belief in the power of the collecDve and diversity underpins the work the collaboraDve leader undertakes. Understanding ourselves and others provides opportunity to create an environment where collaboraDve cultures are nurtured and strengthened. Others’ opinions are seen as valid and valuable. The inward skill of empathy also enables us to understand perspecDves and individual’s realiDes. Without empathy we struggle to see things from our client’s view of the world, hindering our ability to address challenges from a posiDon of real understanding. These beliefs and skills underpin the powerful “WHY” of any reform, change, paradigm shiS or organisaDonal restructure that is about collecDve impact.
3. OUTWARD
Leaders with collaboraDve intelligence are masters at bringing people together in cohesive groups to solve challenging problems. They facilitate discussion which unearth learnings, opinions and debate that serve to strengthen the agreed approach and acDons. They manage divergence and convergence to get to alignment. These leaders are adept at building trust and increasing the collecDve impact of the team or project. They are also able to thrive and guide a team through ambiguity. This ability to sit with ambiguity skill is a strong requirement of an adapDve leader who is co-‐creaDng with their team, rather than creaDng for their team. Outwardly collaboraDve leaders are:
Culture might eat strategy for breakfast according to Peter Drucker, but it sure doesn’t hurt for them to have coffee straight aUer.
Collabora1ve strategy building is a great way to build culture.
• Open to ideas and innova1on • Fair • Trus1ng
• Trustworthy • A Listener • Empathe1c
• Inclusive • Curious • Open minded
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3 POINTS OF MOMENTUM
1. ENGAGEMENT
Any working relaDonship requires engagement. CriDcal foundaDonal acDviDes in a new alliance, collaboraDon or collecDve set the tone and direcDon for the culture. The standard of the work and the commitment of the members is also set at this stage. It is the place where trust is built, vision and purpose are arDculated and rules of engagement and connecDon are set. This step is oSen rushed, or overlooked completely.
2. ALIGNMENT
Alignment to purpose and acDons is criDcal in any effecDve project or team work. In a mulDdisciplinary team the collaboraDon stakes are even higher, with compeDng agendas and opinions oSen railroading real acDon. Alignment aSer agreement, perhaps aSer divergent debate is crucial for collaboraDons to succeed. Vigorous debate and exploraDon via a variety of facilitated processes are the hallmarks of alignment. Flexible and dynamic feedback loops ensure that projects iterate and have a constant formaDve assessment of success lens.
3. IMPLEMENTATION
‘If you’re not innovaDng and execuDng, not implemenDng, not doing great stuff, and if you’re standing sDll, you’re going backwards.’ (Peter Cook, Rules of Management, 2015) We need to have trust and faith as leaders to lead collaboraDvely and then get out of the way – let the team do the job they are itching to do. Micro-‐management sDfles innovaDon and creaDvity and comes from a command and control mentality. The doing of the work and the constant dialogue about the work and how it is shaping towards our vision is collaboraDon in process. Momentum comes from acDon, not endless discussion. It also comes from allowing people to also work solo when and where needed.
We need to have trust and faith as leaders to lead collabora1vely and then get out of the way – let the team do the job they are itching to do.
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Do your leaders have the key elements that are the hallmarks of collaboraDve intelligence? Do they possess the aFributes that a complex and disrupted environment requires? Building the skills of passionate and commiFed leaders who wish to do their very best in a new way of working is one of the major strategies of strategic, forward thinking organisaDons dealing with system wide transformaDon. Supported leaders in this change will expand their skills and develop the approaches that enable transformaDve and impacQul outcomes.
Leaders are seeking to learn the skills, mindsets and approaches that will build a strong, authenDc collaboraDve culture. What enablers are being put in place for your leaders to drive the transformaDon required?
To arrange a meeCng to discuss a CollaboraCve Leadership programme and transform the culture of your organisaCon or schedule a keynote presentaCon for a conference or event, please contact Tracey.
mobile +61 417 317 563 email: tracey@traceyezard.com
“… we believe that there is no other way society will achieve large-‐scale progress against the urgent and complex problems of our 1me, unless a collec1ve impact approach becomes the accepted way of doing business.” John Kania & Mark Kramer, Collabora1on for Impact
‘Tracey demonstrates a unique ability and skill set to work with organisa/ons crea/ng a collabora/ve environment where divergent opinions can be canvassed in a safe process, leading to explora/on and alignment of thinking; whilst oEen challenging tradi/onal philosophies and methodology that can limit poten/al to achieve unique and op/mal outcomes. Tracey has assisted us achieve this at both a Board level and at staff levels across the organisa/on in terms of co-‐crea/ng strategy to drive change and innova/on.’ Nigel Fidgeon, Chief Execu1ve Officer, Merri Community Health Service
‘Tracey is one of the most engaging and interes/ng presenters / facilitators that I have had the pleasure of working with. She listens to the needs and requirements of a planning team and then takes these thoughts and develops them into fascina/ng, engaging, relevant, professional development programs that absolutely meet the needs of the group. In her workshops, she brilliantly engages all par/cipants with her crea/ve ac/vi/es, thought provoking sugges/ons and beau/ful graphic summaries. The ac/vi/es that she runs are always engaging and fun, as she structures and scaffolds the learnings of the group. She has an intelligent ques/oning style that is able to drill down to the issues that are really at the heart of discussions and thoughts. She has an amazing ability to hear themes, and bring diverse opinions together. And, her graphic presenta/ons are absolutely brilliant! She unfailingly captures the work of the groups that she leads cogently and coherently.’ Kate Mitchell, Principal, Box Hill High School
‘Tracey’s challenging yet invi/ng facilita/on style has totally changed the way I facilitate the OTL program’ Brea Moore, Principal Ashwood Secondary College and par1cipant of Bastow Open To Learning program.
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