As the virtual workplace becomes more common, traditional, face-to-face teamwork becomes harder to find.
In this age of increasing connectivity, email, text messages and video conferences often replace boardroom meetings, forcing businesses to adjust to a more global and mobile workforce. This connectivity can open new doors and expand horizons, but it also brings a whole new set of challenges to the table (in this case, a virtual one). Collaborative leadership addresses these challenges.
Collaborative leadership allows teams to make decisions independently. It places trust in each employee’s ability to contribute to a shared mission. It empowers employees to consider alternative solutions and take ownership of their work. When leaders welcome and value individual ideas, those ideas keep coming and a business can thrive.
Any leader can practice collaborative leadership to better compete in the evolving world of business. It’s not always easy, but with time, patience and a willingness to adapt, a leader can implement this approach and adjust to today’s changing workplace.
Let go and share control
It’s often difficult for a business owner to step back and let others assume leadership roles. But as a business grows, a leader’s refusal to relinquish control can often result in a bottleneck.
Employees will stop making suggestions out of concern for what the owner might say, stunting the generation of new ideas. When “the buck stops here,” the owner can easily become the problem when it comes to the growth of the company.
Start small
Set and clearly communicate a vision to ensure a common purpose. Trust your employees to make decisions. Leave room for growth and allow for mistakes. As long as failure is a calculated learning experience, your team’s decision-making skills will improve in the long run.
Invest in the right tools and training to make it work
Today’s technology offers many options for collaboration. Start with what you already have and discover what works for your team. Be mindful of any required training and don’t take for granted employee understanding of a particular tool. Allow for a learning curve, especially with new employees.
Invest in tools that will support collaboration and allow you to keep tabs on progress and development. Add to that investment in the right areas over time. As businesses grow, needs change. A particular product might work in the early stages but not down the road. Learn from your employees. Ask for feedback. What’s working? What’s not? Adjust accordingly.
Stay connected, but keep your data safe
You want to make collaboration as easy as possible, but you also have to protect company assets. Security becomes an enormous issue in online collaboration. When your data is online, it can be vulnerable to theft. Avoid data breaches by seeking out tools that will help you control your data within your own system.
The way we do business is constantly changing. We need leaders who are willing to change, too. Collaborative leadership is a step in the right direction.
How will you adapt? ●
