Getting Results through Collaboration

Do you find it difficult as a leader to get everything done??

You got promoted into a leadership position, and now your to-do list is still as big as it used to be, but now you've got these other people that you need to look after as well, and you need to help them to get their stuff done???

Wow! No wonder so many people feel burned out and stressed.??

Well, stick with me because this week, I'm going to show you what I learned to do to change this and the way we think. It's a mindset shift, and then the behaviours to back it up, that will release you to have more energy to get the things done that you want.??

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, VUCA Leadership and Sustainable Performance Coach and today I want to continue our conversation in relationship management by helping you to get results through collaboration.??

Throughout my entire corporate career, I was a bit of a loner. I used to just get stuff done and got it done well. The problem with that, though, was as I moved into positions of leadership, I didn't allocate bandwidth in my day to help others get the results that they needed to get.?

A leader needs to be available and be able to inspire but I didn't grasp that.??

Since the performance trap that I was operating under “served me well” (or so I thought), I thought that when I just kept doing what I do well, my team would love me, we’ll all keep on going, and my career will go where it needs to go.??

But unfortunately, there's a transition that you and I need to make as a leader to go from somebody who was getting results from their efforts alone to getting the results through people.?

In the work that I do, this key area is something that is a major problem for most of the leaders I work with. They continually tell me they don't have time to get enough done, that their people are eating into their day, or they're always putting out fires, etc. It's all working at effect rather than taking responsibility and looking at things this way:?

“Well, hang on, what am I doing that's causing that problem?”?

The main thing that I was doing, and that they all do, is having a lack of trust in their people.??

That lack of trust in their people says:??

“I'm going to micromanage them because I can't guarantee that they're going to get the results that I need — the ones that I'm going to be judged on - unless I'm there doing it.”?

The other side of the equation is:?

“I'm not going to get them to do anything. I'm just going to do it all myself.”?

Put your hand up right now if you've ever had an internal or external conversation where you thought:??

“It's just easier for me to do it myself.”?

Yet, in the same breath, think:?

“I don't have time.”?

These contradicting thoughts may seem to not make any logical sense.?

But it does to you and me when we are operating out of those uncertainties, meanings, and all the things that we've talked about before when we worked on our identity.?

There are four pillars to great teamwork.??

I’ve talked to you about this before.?

The first one is communication (we already have talked about this).?

The second one is collaboration.??

The other two are how they handle change and negotiate through conflict.??

So, collaboration is a key element in you being able to get your team from where you are now to where it is that you're all going together.??

Collaboration is coming together. It's using the knowledge, skills, energy, and ideas of individuals and putting them in a collective.???

To do this, you need to be a leader who is okay with not having all the answers.??You need to be a leader who is okay that other people who are junior to you might know things you don't know.??

I definitely did not like that at all. I wanted to know everything because if they knew stuff that I didn't know, then perhaps someone above me would see that, and you know the story that would go on, and I would convince myself that that person might get the job that I want or whatever uncertainty I was working on or working through at that particular time.??

Today's leader does not have the luxury of being across everything. If you were, then your team wouldn't be necessary.??

A leader needs to be able to look at the strengths of their individuals. They need to build bonds and inspire everybody in their team who desires to use those gifts and talents to do what they can do and their part in this whole team collaboration.??

So, to collaborate with others, the first thing you need to do as a leader is realise that it's okay that you don't have it all together — that you’re going to make mistakes yourself and that you are going to say and do things which are going to rub people the wrong way.

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Grant Herbert (aka The People Builder) describes himself as an ordinary guy, with an outstanding wife and 5 amazing kids, who has a passion to help people escape the performance trap and regain their authenticity in every area of life. He is a VUCA Leadership Mentor, Sustainable Performance Coach, Master Coach Trainer in Social and Emotional Intelligence,?and the founder of People Builders.

Visit?www.grantherbert.com ?to find out how you can connect.