Tag Archives: collaboration

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

You are not alone

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Leaders are most effective when they leverage others to the maximum extent possible.  As a leader, typically you take accountability for results, this is separate from taking responsibility. 

Leaders can rely on authority/granted power to get others to take on responsibility, (while they retain accountability).   However, it is important to note the use of earned power does not require the use of authority and the outcomes are often of a higher quality.  

Delegation

Delegation is the process of both motivating and empowering others to take on the responsibility to carry out specific activities.  While there is some discretion associated with the delegation the accountability remains with the delegator.

Typically delegation is based on a social or organizational hierarchy, however, skilled leaders can facilitate actions by others through the practice of influence. 

Influence

When you affect change in the actions, behaviors or options of others it is most likely through the exertion of influence.  You are able to motivate others to produce a result because they want to, not because they have to. 

Activities that arise through an act of influence will probably be of a higher quality.  This is because responsibility for the effort is not mandated but rather based on personal motivation.  

Intuitively, things other people want to do are more likely to succeed than things they have little choice about. 

Don’t Go it alone

As a leader, you are more likely to succeed both your and other expectations, that is meet your accountabilities and more, through effectively motivating and supporting those around you.  

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

WIC

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Acronyms can make a simple thought or activity seem more meaningful than it is.  They are also not bad for grabbing attention.  Today I an going to explore WIC.

What is that you say.  Whose In Charge? (WIC).  This can be the bain of collaboration.  Even for the most effective collaborative efforts, failure is on the horizon if WIC is unknown.

Everyone or No One

The extreme cases are the issue, as is so often true.  If the answer to WIC is at either extreme (everyone or no one) little will be accomplished.

To be clear, without a full understanding of the leadership model there might be a lot of churn and burn and as a result solutions or outcomes will be etherial.

This is not to condem either dictating or anarchical approaches, both might have some validity in some context (although I can’t imagine when).

Rather, as is so often the case, a balanced approach is needed.  Albeit the question as to who is in charge, whether shared or through consensus or even a third party, must be clearly understood and bought into by all.

Everyone is important

Understanding who is in charge does not overrride the key principle of collaboration, that is “Everyone is Important”.  The key is focusing the energy and drawing out the best in everyone.

This is not to imply the leader is better or more important than anyone else but rather just to say the action of “herding the cats” is critical to achieve results.

The cat herder is necessary but not of special importance.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

In the Zoo

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Many organizations, private, public and otherwise has chosen to create open office concepts in their workplaces. The organizations office workers congregate in the spaces daily.

The concept of private offices with doors has been replaced with hoteling spaces.  The idea is you make a reservation, meet in private behind closed doors and then go back to your open office.

Pros and Cons

Apparently, open concept spaces encourage collaboration. and they are cheaper to maintain, and of course you need less space, that is you can get more workspaces per square foot versus private offices.

The open space can be equipped with more social amenities that can be enjoyed by all ( shared posting boards, open coffee and snack locations, comfortable couches and other furmiture).

On the other hand, they are in a way incestuous, everyone is joined with everyone else.  Often you can’t help see what is on others computer screens, overhear their calls or conversations they have with both your and their colleagues.

When someone is not around in these open spaces,  it is quickly known and in this day of preeminent usage of social media people reported to  others through text messaging.  It is to some degree worse than a spy network.

Collaboration

Personally I am very familiar with open concept work spaces and have enjoyed both private  offices, semi private cubicles and fully open workspaces at various points through out my career.

In all cases, collaboration with comrades in arms was never improved or decreased by the office space design.  I did notice though the level of interoffice speculation (aka gossip) was always significantly higher the more open the workspace.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Team Behaviours

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The other day a colleague advised me the topic I had raised for discussion was “my problem”.  This is hard to dispute as I am a believer in personal accountability.

What surprised me though, was the lack of understanding around the impact of such responses.  The message is clear, we are not a team, why are you bothering me with your problems.

Good communication benefits everyone

Team players understand the need to share.  The menbers of your organization are undoubtedly unique and diverse in their personalities and the associated behaviours.

Being a team player does not require empathy, sympathy or replication of others behaviours but it does mean listening, probing and understanding (i.e., strong communication).

We don’t always agree with each other, nor do we need too.  Diversity of thought and action are the underpinnings of innovation, efficiencies and high performing results.

Attack the idea not the behaviour.

It is easy to shut down collaboration, just respond with comments related to a persons behaviour.  For example, “not my problem, what a dumb thing to say, you have issues, you have not thought this out very well”

It’s not a stretch to realize those responses are not going to lead to a productive discussion nor team focused resolution.  Behaving individualistically encourages the same in others.

Help yourself and others

Being responsive, respectful and focusing on the content rather than the individual (e.g., you are, you said) benefits everyone.  Positive conclusions are achieved, not neccessarily agreement but at a minimum understanding.

So next time, before responding to someone in a way that includes, “you” or “ your” or “their” and so on pause and rephrase in a way that will result in more effective collaboration.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Giving Advice/Sharing Information Part 2

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Yesterday I posted about the importance of crafting your message for receptivity.  When passing information to someone else shaping it as advice or even coaching might be simple and direct but ineffective.

My recommended technique is the two way approach (so called sharing or sometimes collaborating), that is a partnership  where both sides have content that is important, even if not aligned.  It is gaining the alignment that is your goal, i.e, the intent of your message is more likely to be received.

Whats the point

When you want to tell someone something the goal is always mutual understanding.  Both you and the recipient are successful when both   have a common understanding.

This not necessarily agreement or committment to act, but common understanding is foundational to resolving differences.  Without agreement to the facts the interpretation of outcomes is unlikely to match.

Bad Signs

Feedback from the person you are sharing with, which includes comments like; “Thats not my problem” or “I don’t have any issues” , probably is a good indicator you have failed the receptivity test.

Don’t give up at this point, also don’t get hooked emotionally.  The other parties disinterest may engender upset on your part, this won’t help.  Remain calm and soldier on.

Take Accountability

When you commence your information share, take personal accountabilty.  If you are not able to obtain receptivity consider it your accountability to overcome the challenge.

It is not the other parties lack of interest at fault but rather your issue that you were unable to get their interest.  You can fix it but to do this you must believe you are accountable to do so.

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Everyone is Important

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Our worlds, specifically the people we are surrounded by, consist of many different personalities and perspectives.  Thriving on the differences, that is  embracing them, is more likely to lead to success, than otherwise.

The first step is to accept as a personal mantra, “everyone is important”.  Not lip service but a fully embedded personal belief that guides your behaviour.

Behaviour sets the tone

How you interract with others, from body language to verbal communication, sets the tone for receptivity.  If you broadcast the message that you believe everyone is important, it will be picked up.

People are sensitve and the underlying emotional tone is communicated whether intended or not.  This unspoken messaging can drive the entire tone of a collaberative interraction (or maybe it’s not collaborative, you could be sending the wrong vibe).

The Value Equation

Whats in it for me?  Believing, really believing, that everyone is important leads to powerful collaboration without even trying.  Everyone has a desire to be be recognized.

Treating others with respect requires recognition of their value.  Everyone brings something of use to any collaboration.  This acknowledgement works in all ways, i.e., you send the message and typically others respond in kind.

Everyone contributes to the end result and everyone succeeds. Everyone enjoys, everyone’s realizes pleasure.  It is easy to create this productive and effective environment.

Its all about me

Most importantly, you still are the most important.  Your life is all about you after all.  Focusing soley on yourself though is a big mistake.  The power of the human race as a whole far exceeds that of an individual.

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

I am Insulted

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Years ago,  I decided to share with others in a meeting or just a conversation,  when I felt insulted.  Not in an emotional way but simply as a calm information share.

Sometimes, how you decide to feel about a particular behaviour or feedback seems really clear to you, others might not see it that way.  You choose how to feel, the things going on around you drive these feelings.

Open but respectfull communication is an key underpinning of collaborative behaviour.   What you might deem as disrespectful or insulting might actually be viewed by others as prima donna behaviour on your part.

Get the facts, Share the facts

While your perspective of events can certainly differ from others a reconciliation of perspectives ( i.e., the way the facts are interpreted by each stakeholder) will never occur without a sharing of those perspectives.

While my way or the highway can be self satisfying it’s probably not a good way to win friends and influence people ( to coin a phrase well promoted by the Dale Carnegie Institute) .

What Happens?

As noted I have been using this technique for many years and found it to consistently lead to positive outcomes.  Potential tense interactions are diffused and misunderstandings (tons of those) are at a minimum understood, if not resolved.

Like most things balance is needed when sharing how you feel and if not done with consideration to the atmosphere and context of any given situation it can backfire.

However, executed carefully, the results can be very positve, both in the moment and in the long term (many relationships cover more than fleeting moments.)