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Collaboration can make or break your organization’s growth and progress. One of my clients - let’s call him Matt -  is the President of a technology company who is becoming increasingly frustrated by his senior leadership team's (SLT) inability to work together. While he and his SLT meet on a weekly basis, his direct reports rarely communicate with each other outside of these meetings, instead operating in silos that inhibit the organization’s growth. His team’s dynamics are keeping him up at night (literally!). After all, if his team can’t collaborate, how can the business meet its aggressive growth expectations?

Peer-to-peer collaboration at all levels is necessary for team success. Collaboration allows teams to see the bigger picture, encourages innovation, and breeds opportunities for growth. While 81% of workers believe that collaboration is very important to their company’s progress, they themselves still struggle to collaborate with their peers. Harvard Business Review research tells us that support and participation from leadership is the most critical ingredient, meaning that in order for your team to better work together, you need to join them. 

Your actions are often the blueprint for how the rest of the organization behaves. As a leader, you are not only responsible for your organization’s success, you’re responsible for the way your people collaborate as well. 

Prioritize psychological safety

You may assume that your leadership team feels psychologically safe. After all, these are executives with years of work experience! Yet many of my clients are often surprised to learn that this is not the case. Psychological safety means that all members of an organization know that they won’t be punished for speaking up with questions, concerns, ideas, or mistakes. As Harvard Business School professor and expert in psychological safety at work Amy Edmondson puts it, “it’s felt permission for candor.” Organizations with psychologically safe work environments are all the better for it; teams with high degrees of psychological safety report higher levels of performance and lower levels of interpersonal conflict. 

Collaboration can only exist in an environment where people feel safe. Recently, a client of mine that was newly promoted to his CTO’s leadership team was shocked to observe a team building activity that went awry. The activity was built around strength profiles, and some of his peers opted-out of joining due to privacy concerns. Alarmingly, the CTO continued with the activity despite this feedback, which resulted in a few leadership team members using the time to speak negatively about those that chose not to participate. What was intended to bring the team together ended up creating more harm than good. It’s clear that this CTO’s leadership team isn’t employing psychological safety. 

Whether you’re at the top of an organization or somewhere in the middle, it’s your job to create a safe space for people to speak up, make mistakes, and bring their full selves to work. And the best way to create that safety is by setting an example.  

Start at the top 

It can feel lonely at the top, but it doesn’t have to. Many leaders I work with are isolated, saying they feel “alone” in leading their team. We all need support, even at the highest levels of management, so remember that you also require psychological safety to perform at your best. Psychological safety depends on vulnerability, but this is a difficult prospect for many leaders. If this sounds like you, start by widening your support network outside of your organization, which will allow you to candidly discuss your own challenges with others. This can look like reaching out to former colleagues or classmates in similar positions, joining a professional organization or hiring an executive coach. 

Internally, flex your own collaborative muscles by creating a stronger bond with your own peers within the company. Research shows us that while high-ranking leaders may support the concept of collaboration, most of us aren’t actually doing it. When you connect with your colleagues, you’ll not only set a good example for your team, you’ll also have someone to go to for support when you feel particularly alone. If you want to make real change, you may need to adjust your own ideas about business hierarchy and risk being vulnerable yourself. When leaders are comfortable being vulnerable, that psychological safety is more likely to be extended organization-wide.

Get curious 

When collaboration happens in a psychologically safe environment, differences will arise. Diverse perspectives and experiences are one of the most valuable benefits of working with others, but only if everyone is coming from a place of curiosity. Like so much of work culture, curiosity starts with you. Curious leaders know how to put their ego aside and are willing to challenge their own ideas, but most of all, curious leaders listen. Sometimes the best thing we can do is to step back. Invite your team to contribute, and show them that diverse viewpoints are encouraged, not dismissed. 

In order to demonstrate curiosity, you not only have to acknowledge others’ differences, but to honor them as well. Your team members may feel protective of their own ideas or input, and can interpret dissenting views as an attack or dismissal. Different perspectives enhance the quality of discussions, so don’t allow opposing views to shut collaboration down. Instead, hold space for others to be their whole selves by reserving judgment. Remember, most of us don’t show up to collaborative efforts with ulterior motives, so assume that any contributions are made with positive intentions. When all participants come at these differences through the lens of positive intent instead of being defensive, those alternate views or ideas are transformed into opportunities for growth.  

What kind of leader do you want to be? Let’s talk about it. 

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