Collaboration For Good Leadership
 
 
I’ve been receiving requests for more information on leadership styles for women. Of course, the same leadership style will work no matter if you’re a man or a woman, but the questions have been phrased to indicate many women are not comfortable with the autocratic style of leadership, where the leader dominates the team with a one-sided approach to reach an objective.
 
If you’re not comfortable with that style, there are other choices. Collaboration is one that many women tend toward—what I mean is they can be really, really good at it!
 
There’s an academic argument that managing and leading are two separate realms, but I’m not going to get into that. I have a good reason: I’m committed to helping more women make it into the top 2 tiers of major corporations (only 15% of those lofty seats are women-occupied). Women are doing well with management tasks, as research shows (see below), and occupy half of those positions—up to the mid-management level.
 
What I propose is that each woman adds leadership to her management job—she might as well get ready for that top job.
 
A leader has to be committed to what the company is attempting to do—nah, you can’t fake it. If you’re committed, make sure others get that message. It will help you motivate the people you’re leading—not merely managing. Talk to your people openly about your vision for the future and their part in it. Let them know they’ll be recognized for their work. Also, be honest about risks. You want them to try, and if they fail, you understand that this happens in business, and they won’t be penalized.
 
Now, my tip for the week deals with how a woman should use collaboration.
 
 
Tip:
 
When you collaborate you ask for ideas from your team members, letting them know that more creativity and a better direction can arise this way. Let them know you’re all in this together sharing responsibility and recognition. When team members feel their ideas are being listened to, they are more motivated to making the project a success.
 
Now, the problem for a woman has to be headed off at the beginning of the collaboration . . . because, unfortunately, many people still believe in the stereotype of a weak, helpless woman—perhaps a woman who doesn’t have any ideas of her own. A woman who needs help.
 
At the beginning of the session, let everyone know that you can see at least one possible direction, and if you did not care about their ideas, you would proceed immediately. Tell them a better direction, a better product, and better communication will result if everyone contributes their ideas and talks about how to proceed. But let them know it’s up to you to make the final decision.
 
As you solicit comments from team members, be mindful to directly ask for suggestions from people who are quiet. Sometimes strong comments silence others. Tell people you expect that not everyone will agree. Also, let people know they don’t have to stick to their first thoughts—mind changing is allowed and even encouraged, especially when novel approaches are brought up.
 
At the end of a collaboration session, you as the leader should round up the meeting with a statement such as the following script.
 
“I appreciate all of your comments and I appreciate how easily you allowed different viewpoints to be heard. This is how business can successfully move forward. Now, the final decision is up to me. I will let everyone know by X date. At that time I expect that each of you will support the decision, no matter if your idea was not picked up. Does each of you feel you can fully support the decision at that time—no grumbling allowed? Do you? Thank you. I anticipate moving forward as a true working team.”
 
 
Further Reading:
 
Blog, Women’s Lunch Talk, by Nancy Clark, Proof That Women Make Great Managers —Studies Show Areas Where Women Excel
 
Podcast (always less than 10 minutes), Working in Heels, by Nancy Clark, Episode 1 – Listen To This First —See Why The Time Is Right For Women In Business
 
 
Website, WomensMedia, by Hilary M. Lips, Women and Leadership: The Delicate Balancing Act
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Tags: leadership, management, collaboration, working, women, business, career