Getting Results through Collaboration
SUMMARY
Throughout my entire corporate career, I was a bit of a loner. I used to just get stuff done and got it done well. The problem with that, though, was as I moved into positions of leadership, I didn't allocate bandwidth in my day to help others get the results that they needed to get.
A leader needs to be available and be able to inspire but I didn't grasp that.
Collaboration is coming together. It's using the knowledge, skills, energy, and ideas of individuals and putting them in a collective.
Today's leader does not have the luxury of being across everything. If you were, then your team wouldn't be necessary.
A leader needs to be able to look at the strengths of their individuals. They need to build bonds and inspire everybody in their team who desires to use those gifts and talents to do what they can do and their part in this whole team collaboration.
Collaborating with others gives you leverage.
Your workplace can be a place of harmony and unity where people are okay with who they are as individuals. They're working on their identity, they're teachable and coachable, and you're able to then move forward without all that conflict and stress.
TRANSCRIPT
Do you find it difficult as a leader to get everything done? You got promoted into a leadership position, and now your to-do list is still as big as it used to be, but now you've got these other people that you need to look after as well, and you need to help them to get their stuff done?
Wow! No wonder so many people feel burned out and stressed.
Hi, this is Grant Herbert, VUCA Leadership and Sustainable Performance Coach and today I want to continue our conversation in relationship management by helping you to get results through collaboration.
Throughout my entire corporate career, I was a bit of a loner. I used to just get stuff done and got it done well. The problem with that, though, was as I moved into positions of leadership, I didn't allocate bandwidth in my day to help others get the results that they needed to get.
A leader needs to be available and be able to inspire but I didn't grasp that.
But unfortunately, there's a transition that you and I need to make as a leader to go from somebody who was getting results from their efforts alone to getting the results through people.
The main thing that I was doing, and that they all do, is having a lack of trust in their people.
That lack of trust in their people says: "I'm going to micromanage them because I can't guarantee that they're going to get the results that I need."
There are four pillars to great teamwork.
The first one is communication (we already have talked about this). The second one is collaboration. The other two are how they handle change and negotiate through conflict.
So, collaboration is a key element in you being able to get your team from where you are now to where it is that you're all going together.
Collaboration is coming together. It's using the knowledge, skills, energy, and ideas of individuals and putting them in a collective.
To do this, you need to be a leader who is okay with not having all the answers. You need to be a leader who is okay that other people who are junior to you might know things you don't know.
Today's leader does not have the luxury of being across everything. If you were, then your team wouldn't be necessary.
A leader needs to be able to look at the strengths of their individuals. They need to build bonds and inspire everybody in their team who desires to use those gifts and talents to do what they can do and their part in this whole team collaboration.
So, to collaborate with others, the first thing you need to do as a leader is realise that it's okay that you don't have it all together — that you're going to make mistakes yourself and that you are going to say and do things which are going to rub people the wrong way.
None of that matters in a team that is working together.
I like to compare this with a rowing team. There's a person at the back of the boat going: "Stroke, stroke…" Then, in the same boat, people line up holding their oars. And every time the person in the back says "stroke", they all hit their oars in the water at the same time, and their oars all pull back the same amount. That means that they're going to power forward in one direction.
Collaborating with others gives you leverage. No longer is it just your efforts that are getting the results. Now, you've got this beautiful team of individuals coming together.
A single rope by itself can lift a certain weight. It can withstand a certain amount of tension and stress. However, when you take two ropes and tie them together, it doesn't increase by one; it multiplies it tenfold.
Your workplace can be a place of harmony and unity where people are okay with who they are as individuals. They're working on their identity, they're teachable and coachable, and you're able to then move forward without all that conflict and stress.
Learning to collaborate is a combination of all the skills we've been talking about. It's about being able to communicate in a positive way. It's about managing the response to your emotions and being able to have empathy around what the other person might be going through. It's about being able to build those bonds and learning to be more agile.
When you put all these things that we have talked about together in the individuals, then you and your team can go anywhere.
Well, that's it from me for another week. Join me again next week as we continue this conversation by helping you get rid of performance management and learn how to coach sustainable performance.
I'll see you then.
