Collaborative Leadership
Andrew Aken, PhD, CISSP
Chief Information Security Officer | Chief Information Officer | Consultant | Zero Trust Evangelist | Digital Transformation | IT/Cloud Infrastructure | Collaborative Servant Leader | Strategic Planner | AI | EQ | Singer
One hard truth I've learned over the years is that I am not always right or my approaches to solving a problem are not always the best. Recognizing this unbelievable truth is why many years ago I adopted a philosophy of #CollaborativeLeadership.
1. It starts with developing the mindset that although my experience and research may advocate for a particular decision or direction to follow, there may be better alternatives out there (or even nuances to my approach I hadn't considered).
2. It continues with hiring people not because they are like me or agree with me on everything, but that can think and reason independently, justify their alternative points of view, and challenge me. This is one of the reasons I'm also a strong advocate for diversity.
3. Additionally, I must approach the decisions I make with an open mind. I've hired these people because I respect their experience and knowledge of their domains. Consequently, equity & inclusion are absolutes to make this work successfully.
4. Accountability is paramount in this approach. I take ownership of project failures, acknowledging my responsibility as the decision-maker. Conversely, I am quick to credit and appreciate the contributions of team members for successful outcomes.
- a. If my team is underperforming, that's my fault. I've obviously not been doing a good enough job with coaching, mentoring, training, motivating, and inspiring them.
- b. If individuals are misplaced in their roles, I prioritize understanding their aspirations and facilitating transitions to roles that align with their skills, abilities, and interests.
领英推è
5. However, it's essential to strike a balance. Collaboration should be reserved for critical decisions to avoid impeding progress with excessive consensus-seeking. Otherwise, "Collaboration becomes the sand that grinds the wheel to a standstill rather than the oil that greases it."
6. The collaborative leadership philosophy doesn't include just direct reports, but peers as well.
Taking a collaborative approach to #leadership will increase #creativity, an #EntrepreneurialMindset, #productivity, buy-in, #agility, and #JobSatisfaction.
Some useful articles about adopting a collaborative leadership style include:
Network Operations Technical Specialist
1 å¹´Very well said Andrew! Always a great experience collaborating with you. In my experiences you always valued my opinion and approach, but would challenge me to see other angles to help me grow and understand your point of view as well.