Collaborative leadership

© David Archer – Socia Ltd 2013

Collaborative Leadership

- Delivering results across

boundaries

David Archer

Socia Ltd.

London 2012

a triumph of

collaborative

leadership…

But what is

the best

example?


The human dilemma

• Our brains have evolved with the capabilities

needed to collaborate and to compete

– to be social animals and to be soldiers

• These capabilities evolved at a time when they

were used to:

– cooperate within a tribe

– compete with other tribes

Ants have had 60M years+ to refine their social

capabilities – Homo sapiens have had < 100k years

See – The Social Conquest of Earth By E O Wilson


Interdependence

No man is an island

We live in an increasingly connected world – leaders

need to face the inevitability of interdependence

It wasn’t always like that…


Vertical integrated organisation > Control

Networked organisation > Flexibility + Interdependence


Today… ecosystems, multi-party networks and

the threat of contagion!

Collaboration is not a moral choice –

but sometimes it is a business necessity


Risks multiply across boundaries

A model to help leaders manage

successful collaborative relationships


The spectrum of collaboration

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

mutual partnership

Close

All objectives the same

Loyal to the group

Lots of time together

Distant

Separate business objectives

Loyal to my employer

Little time together

“They give us a good

deal”

“They are really one

of us”

customer supplier transactional

permanent team

symbiotic


Points of interdependence


• The greater the degree of

collaboration, the more

frequent and significant are

the points of interdependence

• + the further to the left the

relationship sits on the

spectrum of collaboration

• Parties act independently

outside these points - to meet

agreed goals

• However the actions of one

party may affect the

reputation of all

Points of interdependence


Collaboration

Operations

Behaviours Governance

Three foundations of collaboration


• Governance

• Operations

• Behaviours

• By Governance we mean the ways contracts are written,

accountabilities are set and decisions are made

• By Operations we mean the processes by which things get done,

progress is measured and information/learning is shared

• By Behaviours we mean the way that leaders act as role models

and people work together to produce joint results



transactional customer supplier

symbiotic permanent team

Wh

at

do

we

have t

o m

an

ag

e?

mutual partnership






Wh

at

do

we

have t

o m

an

ag

e?



contract & governance

mutual partnership




Wh

at

do

we

have t

o m

an

ag

e?



individual & group behaviours

mutual partnership




Wh

at

do

we

have t

o m

an

ag

e?

individual & group behaviours

operations – process

& systems

contract & governance



mutual partnership



Relationships at different points on the spectrum of

collaboration require a different degree of leadership

focus on Governance, Operations and Behaviours

So what does all this mean for

project managers…?


Collaborative Leadership

In this interconnected

world, people delivering

projects across boundaries

face the needs to:

– Build relationships

– Handle conflict

– Share control


New skills?

6 attributes of a collaborative leader

• Agility

• Patience

• Empathy

• Mediation

• Influencing

• Engaging

others

Abraham Lincoln

“A Team of Rivals”


a process of

Co-evolution

Yucca moth Giant hawk moth

Collaboration in a changing world is…

You can’t do it on your own

And finally...


The collaborative leader

- a 10 point manifesto 1. Seek out conflict early - address it openly and with

confidence

2. Don’t expect your partners to have the same objectives as

yourself – but look for the common ground

3. Understand that collaboration is not a zero sum game -

but if you want others to invest in your success you must

invest in theirs

4. Value and use diversity – both within your organisation

and between you and your partners

5. Only get as close and collaborate as much as the

situation demands - collaboration is not a moral choice…


The collaborative leader

- a 10 point manifesto continued

6. Look to the long-term in relationships – and combine

patience with agility

7. Listen hard – and then show you have understood what

you heard

8. Be clear where the significant ‘points of interdependence’

are in a relationship – you can’t control everything

9. Engage others in your mission to be a collaborative leader

– you can’t be a collaborative leader on your own

10.Be authentic in all you do – people need to know that

what they see is what they get.


But remember a shift of power can

change the whole collaboration game


Questions


Socia (f socius) – Latin ~

partner, companion,

associate, from societas –

fellowship: implying union

for a common purpose and

not a mere assembly Socia Ltd

Central Court

25 Southampton Buildings

London

WC2A 1AL

T 0870 787 6202

W www.socia.co.uk

Collaborative leadership

Business

behaviours david archer

boundaries david archer

good deal david archer

e o wilson david archer

degree of collaboration

different points

significant points

madeby operations