Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Collaboration Is A Leadership Development Skill

By Bart Icles

Today, businesses all over the world are getting smarter and more skilled employees. However, if organizations want to take their business to the next level, they must be able to tap into the varied skills of other employees besides their managers. It is crucial for leaders to collaborate with one another and develop partnerships with other individuals. This is one key element that makes a manager a true leader!

When you collaborate, you open many windows of opportunity to share responsibility, knowledge, creativity, and experience with others. This is essential when it comes to an organizations development of leadership.

You probably already know for yourself that collaborating or developing a collaborative relationship is not the most natural of things to do, nor is it particularly easy either. This is simply because every person is different; we all have different lifestyles, backgrounds, and experiences that make us who we are. If you are an effective leader, you know how to collaborate, even when it isn't easy.

Leaders who produce amazing results on a regular basis are those who believe in the power of collaboration and use it regularly. If you didn't realize this, collaboration starts with the leader or manager because they must be open and completely willing to let some of the control leave their hands. However, one of the biggest stumbling blocks in collaboration can be time demands or urgency to complete a project or sell.

If a leader or manager can create an atmosphere where members of a collaborative team value and listen to each other's alternative views and seek out the objectives that will create a winning situation, then you have already conquered the hardest and most important thing that needs to be present when collaborating.

If you are looking for other ways to encourage collaboration among a group of individuals, you can try actively involving every person and keep the idea of free information exchange alive and well among you. The leader must begin by setting the tone of the group by always listening to other people's ideas and being open minded to everything that is brought up. When team members get together to collaborate, it is vital that the leader validates and reinforces the collaboration and ideas shared in order to continue the behavior.

Developing strong leaders in your company is a necessary thing if you want to continue the firm's success year in and year out. Leadership training and development takes time and effort, but can be very beneficial if you take the necessary steps to train your leaders.

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