Collaboration: A Key to Effective Leadership

We’re at the top of the new year, but we’re just months away from another national election. This one will be critical to many of the issues that are important to women, and Black women in particular. We all vote as individuals, but an election also presents the opportunity to build community and work with others to get our favored candidates – local, state, and federal – over the finish line.

As we consider what candidates have to offer in the way of leadership qualities like integrity, accountability, and competence, we should also be mindful of an often underrated leadership quality – especially in this era of divisive politics – collaboration, or joining forces to empower and uplift. 

As I will share in an upcoming book that I am coauthoring about Black women and resilience, leadership is about influencing and guiding others to achieve a goal or fulfill a mission. Leaders are not just the CEOs and directors in an organization – individuals at all levels can demonstrate leadership. A collaborative leadership style that invites and listens to the voices and perspectives of everyone in a group can result in more creative and impactful solutions. 

Collaboration is an essential part of leadership. It is a quality embodied in the concept of servant leadership. An internet search brings up many definitions of servant leadership in different sectors of society, including business, the military, and religious institutions. I like this definition from Delta Sigma Theta Sorority’s Union County Alumni Chapter in North Carolina: “Servant leadership inverts the power pyramid and puts you at the bottom and others at the top. We must change our leadership focus to empowering others.”  

The idea of servant leadership resonates with many African Americans because we embrace the African-centered values of community and leadership. We can apply the concept of servant leadership to our lives when we vote, and also to how we show up at work or in our communities. In our jobs or as volunteers, we can cultivate a collaborative spirit. That means letting go of the old idea that leadership has to be top-down and embracing the notion that you might have to build consensus and compromise to lead effectively.

Collaboration is not always valued in mainstream spaces. Our country is built on an individualistic ethos, the idea that only a single visionary leader can guide a team to success. But we can actually be stronger and more effective when we join forces. As organizations from the NAACP to the Urban League know, there are benefits to linking arms, making connections and showing strength in numbers.

The good news is we can all be collaborative leaders. To determine your leadership style, take the Leadership Compass Self-Assessment. This tool provides a way of thinking about working with others, understanding the value of different work styles, and learning the qualities we can develop to become better leaders. 

Cultivating the Collaborative Leader in You

Grab your journal to write and reflect about leadership. Give yourself 15 minutes to consider and explore the following:

1. Think of a leader who you admire. Name two or three qualities that you appreciate about how they connect, persuade and lead others.  

2. Which of those qualities do you embody and which ones would you like to cultivate? 

3. Imagine a situation where you see obstacles or roadblocks that keep you from leading in your career or your community. Then imagine those barriers were gone. Write about what you would do with nothing in your way.

Reflect: take a few minutes and read over what you wrote. Notice what feelings come up for you and where you feel them in your body. Consider any new action you might want to take as a result of your writing. And then write about that. 

As you explore how you want to show up as a leader, consider possible these action steps:

Volunteer to lead. Join a social-action oriented organization, or if you’re already in a group, raise your hand to lead a committee or take on solving a problem that the group faces.

Connect. Reach out to other organizations that do what you want to do in order to expand your reach.

Recognize good work in others. Foster collaboration by letting a colleague know that you see them and that what they’re doing matters. Send an appreciative email and copy higher ups, provide a letter or certificate of recognition, or simply buy them flowers. These acts of kindness foster collaboration by validating others in their efforts. It also makes them feel like they want to stay on your team.  

We are exploring collaboration and other principles in an upcoming virtual “Working While Black” series focused on leadership for Black women. Next sessions: authenticity on Feb. 21 and ditching doubts on March 6. For more information about future events, visit https://www.musegrace.com/ or get my newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/g9qkQ5.