As a leader, how do you encourage collaboration? Today, in our “Peer-to-Peer Leadership” vlog post, @lornerubis and I talk about how to take your organization to new heights by giving employees the room they need to solve problems together.
Organizations have traditionally used rigid hierarchies to push ideas from the top down: leaders tell employees what to do and they do it. While this structure worked in the past, today’s environment of innovation and contribution are challenging organizations to change how they solve problems by encouraging collaboration.
Introducing collaboration to the workplace can be a huge mindset shift for many traditional leaders. For it to truly work, leaders have to let go of the idea that only they can solve problems. Instead, they have to embrace the participation of their teams and design an environment where everyone feels comfortable bringing an idea or answer to the table.
While leaders need to learn to foster open collaboration, employees must buy into the process too. Often, the best way to solve a problem is to let the people who face the problem solve it.
Organizations can facilitate better teamwork by allowing people to take on projects that truly interest them. Remind employees that you hired them to be “smart creatives” and encourage them to show up every day with their ideas. Their passion, creativity, and engagement will breed an innovative and collaborative environment.
Always remember that your organization is a community. Leaders who embrace collaborative environments know that although they won’t always have the right answer, they have someone on their team who will. Peer-to-peer leadership is the key to innovation.
Two key takeaways from this episode:
- As a leader, create conditions that allow your employees to collaborate.;
- Step into every project with an abundant mindset. Remember that your team can have ideas just as good as (if not better than) yours and ask for them.
Here’s to disrupting sameness and achieving #betterwork.
Lynette
