Leadership & Collaboration

A good leader understands their values, the values of their followers, and that of their organization. Still not only that, but they also use that knowledge to encourage and empower everyone. Collaboration in any environment can lead to innovation and progress within a community; as such, collaboration is one of the most important aspects to consider in leadership.

Leaders must know their followers personally and professionally to promote collaboration and teamwork.
To foster a collaborative innovate team leaders must appreciate and respect the viewpoints of the team and involve them in the decision-making process. Transparency and involvement in the decision-making process allow everyone to understand how their work contributes to the values and goals of the organization and its vision.

When attempting to understand your values and those of others, it is essential to consider that the actual organizational values are not the stereotypical posters or morning pep talks. Rather, the values, culture, and significance of an organization comes from the individuals within. However, their values can and are affected by a leader attempting to unify the organization toward common goals. When the importance of people within a organization is recognized energy levels increase leading to improved collaboration, engagement, and ultimately productivity.

Two common pathways to achieving a organization with like-minded, shared values are to: 1) hire people who share the values outright, or 2) find individuals who look for purpose in their job and an organization that values them. When an organization has common shared values, crises are more easily dealt with due to volunteering, stepping up, and people being more willing to work together and solve the problem concerning something they all care about.

The importance of a leader’s values and their effects on a given organization cannot be overstated. In numerous surveys participants have continuously indicated that their leaders’ values were significant to them. However, less than half of leaders who prioritize values work for organizations, less than half don’t understand their own leadership style, and even fewer can know and can verbalized their own values.

Many leaders can and do still struggle with values-based leadership. In general, many organizations still rely on and reinforce rules-based management-focused systems rather than values-based leadership-focused ones. The tendency is to focus more on management skills when leadership skills are critical to organizational morale, collaboration, and employee engagement.

References

Journal of Values-Based Leadership (JVBL) | College of Business | Valparaiso University. scholar.valpo.edu/jvbl.