posted 12-10-2001 14:16               

Lessons from Everest: The Role of Collaborative Leadership in Crisis
by Dori Digenti

Dealing with today's volatile business environment is similar to scaling Mt. Everest: Survival demands strong leadership and quick decision-making based on the best
information we can gather in a short time. Success or failure, especially in crises, has more to do with how well the group interacts and makes decisions together than with individual skills and resources. In this context, collaborative leadership is crucial.

Collaborative leadership is a set of skills for leading people to accomplish both individual and collective goals. Collaborative leaders must be excellent communicators of a passionate vision. Their role also includes staying aware of the big picture and weaving many factors together into a plan to accomplish an overarching goal. They continually assess progress and review alternative scenarios with their teams, creating contingency plans so the group can respond quickly to changing conditions. Collaborative leaders must also balance the agendas of very different people and help them achieve their highest level of capability. And although they collect input and information from others, such leaders must ultimately make decisions that they feel best serve the organization's needs.

Unfortunately, few managers know what collaborative leadership entails or how to implement it. Many think it means keeping everyone happy or couching mandates in
friendly language. But a collaborative leader's ultimate task is to create a web of relationships among team members that won't collapse under stress. Cultivating the human capacity of your organization--before a crisis occurs--can help you ensure that team members don't fall apart when you need them most.