leading internal and external collaboration

LEADING INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL COLLABORATION

Western Museum Association

October 27, 2015

Joyce Osland, Ph.D. Executive Director, Global Leadership Advancement Center

Lucas Endowed Professor of Global Leadership San Jose State University

GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS

•  Social Benefit •  Excellence •  Leadership •  Collegiality: To provide opportunities for

individuals to connect and develop life-long relationships, as they create a community of colleagues who support each other’s institutional endeavors and personal well-being.

•  Fun •  Trust: To respect one another and be confident in

the integrity of our diverse museum community. •  Inclusion: To encourage differences of opinions,

perspectives, and unfamiliar ideas, as they enrich the WMA.

•  Sustainability

WMA CORE VALUES & COLLABORATION

The end goal of collaboration

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. African proverb © Joyce Osland, 2015

There are approximately 850 million visits each year to American museums, more than the attendance for all major league sporting events and theme parks combined. For this to continue, museums have to be

innovative – and collaborative

© Joyce Osland, 2015

NO INNOVATION WITHOUT COLLABORATION: PIXAR EXAMPLE •  A messy iterative process involving hundreds

of people •  Tens of thousands of ideas in each film •  “Dailies” attended by many people from all

areas who offer ideas/feedback, regardless of role or level

•  Art, technology and business as equal partners – no dominant voice

A BENEFIT OF PIXAR COLLABORATION

“Pixar has always erred on the side of having people feel like they’re a part of the process. I know of very few employees who don’t immediately go to the theater just to see how may people are lined up with a film first comes out. You’d be hard-pressed to find that in any other business, and I would say any other studio. Imagine the receptionist going to do that! People are so engaged.”

Collective Genius: The Art and Practice of Leading Innovation, Hill, Brandeau, Truelove & Lineback, 2014, p. 22.

KEY DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS

•  Should your museum be collaborating more/less than it does?

•  Are there hidden costs for lack of collaboration among your staff/partners?

•  Are there flashpoints where lack of collabor-ation is most obvious and harmful?

•  Are there barriers to good collaboration? •  Is your museum designed for collaboration,

competition or independence?


BARRIERS TO COLLABORATION

Competition Fear

No incentives Too busy

Status Gap Cultural Differences

Scarce Resources

Willing or

Able? Unskilled


BEST PRACTICES

What would a truly collaborative museum look like?

WAYS TO PROMOTE COLLABORATION •  Superordinate goals •  Shared values •  Rules of engagement/processes •  “How can I/we help you be successful?” •  From “we-they” to “we versus the problem” •  Functional conflict only •  No competition over scarce resources •  Avoid creating winners and losers –

evidence-based decisions •  Integration mechanisms •  Buffers


Structure

Systems

Style

Shared Values

Staff

Skills

Strategy

The 7-S Model

ALIGNMENT = SUCCESS

SEVEN STEPS OF SOCIALIZATION

Careful selection of candidates

Humility-inducing experiences In-the-trenches

training

Careful attention to rewards & control

systems

Careful adherence to core values Reinforcing

folklore

Consistent role models

Organizational Behavior: An Experiential Approach 8/E Joyce S. Osland, David A. Kolb, Irwin M. Rubin and Marlene E. Turner

16 -15 (Pascale, R. T. “The Paradox of Organizational Culture.”)

Humble Inquiry: The Gentle Art of Asking Instead of Telling (Schein 2013)

“Both an attitude and a behavior of the helper, humble inquiry means “accessing your ignorance” and becoming open to what may be learned from each other through observing, genuine open empathic questioning, careful listening, self-inquiry, not judging but suspending judgment, and shifting helping roles as necessary” (Edgar Schein, 2009; 2013)

© Joyce Osland, GLAC 2015

LISTENING TO LEARN -- THEN LEADING

STYLE

WHICH ITEMS DO NOT BELONG? The Collaborative Leader: 1. Puts the organization’s overarching goals first and personal goals second 2. Preoccupied with own agenda 3. When people disagree, gets them to see the bigger picture 4. Empathizes with people who have different views 5. Encourages open discussion and debate early on 6. Makes decisions alone or overrules team decisions 7. Takes responsibility for a mistake 8. Holds others accountable

© Joyce Osland, GLAC, 2015

STYLE

“Organizational culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

Peter Drucker

SHARED VALUES


Leaders Get the Behavior They Exhibit and Tolerate

“The culture of a company is the behavior of its leaders. Leaders get the behavior they exhibit and tolerate. You change the culture of a company by changing the behavior of its leaders. You measure the change in the culture by measuring the change in the personal behavior of its leaders and the performance of the organization.” -Dick Brown

SHARED VALUES


How Leaders Create/Modify an Organizational Culture

Ø What leaders pay attention to, measure and control on a regular basis

Ø Deliberate role modeling, teaching and coaching Ø Create and transmit new stories & symbols Ø Socialize newcomers Ø Inculcate key values in training Ø Change reward system to benefit those who

behave in accordance with values Ø Hire, promote, fire in accordance with values

22 -18 (Edgar Schein, Organizational Culture and Leadership)

WORKING ACROSS CULTURES: BUILDING RESPECT

© Joyce Osland, GLAC 2015

•  In teams, respect = appreciating a person’s contributions

•  It’s more difficult to understand contributions and acknowledge expertise in areas unfamiliar to us

•  Good communication and conflict resolution usually lead to the development of respect

SKILLS

COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES

If purpose and shared values are the glue that binds members into a coherent collaborative community, rules of engagement are the grease that keeps member interactions running smoothly.

SYSTEMS

CREATIVITY COMES FROM A CONFLICT OF IDEAS


Fostering Input and Healthy Conflict •  INTEL’s “Disagree and Commit” fosters both

candid exchange and cohesive implementation. It is taught to all employees because it is an integral part of INTEL culture

•  Employees are encouraged to disagree and express and consider all ideas during the decision making stage. Once a decision is made, they are expected to commit to it fully and not undermine it -- regardless of their personal opinion.


SKILLS

BEST PRACTICES: EXTERNAL COLLABORATION

•  Take a win-win approach and focus on reciprocal needs

•  Do stakeholder analysis and develop stakeholder dialogue skills

•  Build trusting relationships in networks and alliances

•  Develop shared leadership skills •  Balance competition and collaboration

effectively

SKILLS


STAKEHOLDER ANALYSIS

Stakeholder:

Interests My biggest concerns are?

Position A “win” outcome for me would be?

Influence My special power in this situation is?

Special Considerations Cultural Organizational

ExpectationsWhat I want from you is?

SKILLS

THE FINAL DIAGNOSTIC QUESTIONS - AN HONEST LOOK

AT OURSELVES AS LEADERS

22 -4

Are we a force for collaboration or competition or simply independence?

What example do we set? Do we actively listen to all perspectives

and treat all areas equally?

STYLE


“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” Rumi

THANKS!

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS?

CREATIVITY COMES FROM A CONFLICT OF IDEAS

leading internal and external collaboration

Government & Nonprofit