By Carlo Cuesta
Collaboration is a tricky beast. We collaborate daily with our teams, boards, and community partners to co-create solutions. As we all know, this is no easy task and we don’t always do it well. Yet it’s critically important: Our ability to build lasting and effective collaborations directly influences our pace of change. And as leaders, we’re directly responsible for the quality of our work and the growth of our teams and organizations. That’s why collaborative leadership is crucial for driving social impact.
I’d like to offer two key strategies for advancing collaborative leadership:
- Make individual and group strengths and assets visible.
- Make individual and group power dynamics transparent.
These strategies work in tandem. Effective leaders help team members understand the value of each individual by clearly recognizing the strengths and assets each person brings to the table. But’s it’s also important to recognize the power dynamics—things like who holds the information, what’s the decision-making process, and who’s the ultimate decision-maker. By doing so, we clarify how our strengths and assets can be used effectively.
A lack of visibility or transparency can lead to imbalance. When individual strengths are hidden and power is opaque, people may feel the need to control the group environment to maintain a sense of personal-professional safety. If strengths are visible but power remains opaque, individuals and groups might manipulate or position their strengths to prevail, leading to competition rather than collaboration.
But when we make strengths visible and power dynamics transparent, we cultivate an environment of trust that’s conducive to deep dialogue and risk-taking rather than superficial control struggles. Collaborative leadership creates a foundation for genuine and impactful respect and collaboration.
By centering our efforts on these two strategies, we help our teams to engage more deeply, to innovate, and to drive the social impact we all strive for. Let’s commit to shining a light on our teams’ strengths and power dynamics to create environments where collaboration can truly flourish.