Leading Collaboratively Is A Jam Session

The skills it takes to successfully emerge from a crisis

Many leaders would define the past two years as one long crisis. But unlike other moments of organizational change, there has been no period of stasis following disruption, no clear resolution from the onslaught of unforeseen curveballs. Plus, virtually every company has been experiencing this upheaval simultaneously. For many HR leaders, the Covid-19 crisis has felt relentless.

When leadership teams miss the mark, one crisis can create a bloodbath for the business. Big egos emerge. Communication shuts down. Soon there are turf wars and pointed fingers. Times of crisis can also cause people to cling to what’s been done in the past, limiting creative thinking and experimentation.   
 

Remarkably, amid the turmoil of a crisis, there are leadership teams who rise above the noise. Some have continued to innovate and transform their businesses. They have not only met the moment of the crisis and responded to its rallying cry but emerged stronger because of it. Chances are, they’ve done so with collaboration. 

Collaborative leadership is often described as the process of getting out of one silo of the business and reaching across the aisle. It involves walking in other people’s shoes. While we may like to think of ourselves as playing nice in the sandbox with others, it takes intention and practice to lead by not only creating our own vision but also incorporating others’ points of view.  

I’m a graduate of the Los Angeles High School County High School for the Arts. In addition to my 20 years in business, I credit my early years in the arts for informing how I partner with corporate leaders to cultivate creativity in the workplace. At the heart of my arts training is the transferable skill of building off each other’s ideas. It served as the foundation to leading collaboratively. 

To break down collaborative leadership, there are a few underlying competencies to observe. We’ll examine each one and explore practical things you can do to foster them.  

Empathy

At the start of the pandemic, many referred to the CEO as the Chief Empathy Officer. The ability to feel what others may be experiencing has become a power skill. And it’s particularly valuable in times of crisis. For leaders, empathy helps build collaboration because it gets us out of our own heads. It builds human connection. 

To put this into practice, when mapping out potential business scenarios, try linking decisions to the feeling of their impact on all stakeholders – employees, customers, investors, and the community. It doesn’t mean every decision in times of crisis will leave people feeling great, but it may prevent blunders of firing 900 people on Zoom. 

A Growth Mindset

Defined as the belief that our abilities are not fixed, but instead can be developed with effort, the acknowledgement that we’re all still learning pays dividends when leading collaboratively. Microsoft, which has performed notably well during the past two years, attributes its innovation, high performance, and ability to achieve its mission to its growth mindset culture.

A powerful way to model this is through growth mindset stories. When a leader admits they’ve stumbled and learned from it, it sends a powerful signal. Employees are then given permission to keep trying new things, even during turbulent times, without the unrealistic expectation of perfection. 

Courage

Collaboration at the leadership level requires personal courage. In the arts, any creative output demands fearlessness. Only then can that creativity get shaped, refined, and molded into artistry. Actors and dancers rehearse to continuously improve before the show. The same principles apply in business. For leaders to respond collaboratively in times of crisis, they must be willing to vulnerably put forward ideas. 

Times of crisis raises the stakes. Leaders must show courage to operate under greater scrutiny and potential for criticism. But this is precisely how effective collaboration can strengthen the crisis management process and a slate of responses. 

Transparency

When the shockwave of Covid-19 initially hit, many leadership teams scrambled to answer the myriad questions on employees’ minds. The leadership teams who communicated regularly and openly had the most success in connecting with their workforce. Collaborative leadership can’t happen when the cards are hidden. 

Leaders can find ways of committing to greater transparency by openly summarizing what’s discussed at leadership planning sessions, offering Town Hall forums to discuss any changes in the works, and providing Ask-Me-Anything inboxes for employees to ask questions to top executives. 

Adaptability

During times of crisis—and even in times of relative stability—change is the one constant. As leaders, the ability to adapt, rethink, and improvise allows for real-time collaboration. 

To strengthen the adaptability muscle, consider regularly brainstorming Best Case, Most Likely Case, and Worst Case scenarios as a team. The practice of imagining what you’d do next in each scenario (before it actually happens) gives leaders a safe space to voice their perspectives and share ideas.  

Want to see collaborative leadership in real-time? Watch a jazz band. Each member contributes something unique: a tone, a message, a distinct lyrical melody. But a great jazz band co-creates the mood and direction of the whole piece— together. They feel the energy of each instrument. They keep courageously pushing forward if they hit a wrong note and adapt their approach based on what the other musicians are offering. And the results are magnetic. 

Likewise, in business, a great leadership team is a collection of diverse voices with unique perspectives. Even in times of crisis, they dance in the moment together. They challenge each other with mutual respect. They keep the rhythm and the tempo. Even in crisis, they can find joy in working together. 

As leaders, our role is not to always blend in perfect harmony. Especially in times of crisis, there may be tension, disagreements, and conflict. But leading collaboratively allows us to contextualize the situation and move through the crisis as a stronger, more connected group. Then it’s time to jam. 

Anne Jacoby, has spent over 15 years cultivating creativity in business. In her role as founder of Spring Street Solutions, Anne partners with leading companies to build innovative, connected and inclusive workplace cultures, offering custom workshops, executive coaching, business culture strategy and learning program development. She previously served as employee #7 at Axiom, a global leader in on-demand legal talent, which she helped launch globally across 14 offices. She has also served as VP of Learning, Development and Culture at RGP, a global consulting firm with 5,000+ professionals. Before her transition to the corporate world, Anne spent 15 years as a professional singer, actor, dancer and voice-over artist, developing a healthy obsession with storytelling. Visit www.springstreetco.com  Connect Anne Jacoby