Collaborate: Mission impossible?

The key is not to reframe collaboration as something to be done, in addition to other priorities, but as a fundamental means of addressing all organizational challenges

I recently had the opportunity to participate in Lisbon in the III International Conference of the Forum for Integrated Governance , which was held under the theme “Collaborating: Mission Impossible”. The initiative had the institutional support of the Ministry of the Presidency and Administrative Modernization and the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security of Portugal, and was attended by several national and international speakers, experts in the field of collaboration who shared their knowledge and experiences of collaboration between organizations.

It was very gratifying for me to see the level of consensus that there was in the Forum on the need to seek a new balance between hierarchy as a guarantor of predictability and control, and redarchy as an engine of innovation and growth. The reality is that the imperatives of integrated management, necessary for a citizen-centred public administration, are not achievable only with the hierarchical, highly centralized and bureaucratic structures that we have built so far

The social web shows us every day that sharing creates value. But building a collaborative organization is no easy feat and requires a transformative approach to culture, new collaborative processes, and the social technologies that make it possible. And above all, it requires the example and unwavering commitment of management. Fostering a culture of collaboration represents a great opportunity for organizations to realize people’s full potential in terms of creativity, initiative, and passion for what they do.

Collaboration between organizations at the operational level allows us not only to increase productivity, make the work of staff more effective, and improve organizational communication, but also make possible a new generation of services focused and designed for citizens.

Collaboration is not only the way to achieve integrated governance, but it is the basis for open innovation in a complex world that increasingly requires collective responses. Collaboration in public administration allows us to take a giant leap forward in areas such as relations with citizens, the acceleration of open innovation, or the introduction of new one-stop-shop services, which make life easier for people and companies.

Three key elements for collaboration

Collaboration isn’t easy, but it’s worth the effort. In a global world of accelerated change, the borders of our organizations become liquid and work teams are increasingly virtual, dispersed or multifunctional and composed of members who have often not met before. Setting up a multidisciplinary team with representation at all levels of the organization to lead a collaborative initiative requires:

1. Culture of collaboration. Culture is the DNA of an organization and is an essential pillar for all successful collaboration. Collaborative organizations thrive on a culture of openness, flexibility, and shared goals. In a true collaborative culture, people trust each other and share information to better serve the needs of citizens or the administration.
2. Collaborative Leadership. The context in which our future leaders have to operate is quite different from what we were used to in the previous decade. Therefore, leadership styles need adaptation. Effective leadership in today’s climate requires collaboration, listening, influence, and flexible adaptation, rather than command and control. For collaboration to be successful, leaders need to be authentic and transparent in their decision-making.
3. New spaces and times for collaboration. New social technologies naturally connect people inside and outside the organization, making possible the emergence of a collaborative culture, where sharing creates value. But it is essential to dedicate new spaces and times that make collaboration possible without sacrificing current operational capacity. The organizational duality, hierarchy and networking, consists precisely in reformulating collaboration so that it is not “something else to do”, one more item on the list of priorities, but a fundamental means to address all business priorities

Collaborative leadership model

Collaborative leadership consists precisely of mobilizing others – outside and within our area of responsibility – to achieve understanding and agreement on what must be done and how it must be done, facilitating individual and collective efforts to adapt and developing the new skills and habits necessary to adapt to new circumstances. Unlike formal leadership, in which authority derives from our position, collaborative leadership is exercised from our personal power and credibility. It does not originate, therefore, in the position we occupy, but in our proactive action as leaders, based on our passion and perseverance, our self-confidence and our ability to decide.

How to make it a reality in our organizations? Basically, responding systemically and continuously to the different challenges, working as a flexible and agile network, outside but aligned with the traditional hierarchy, establishing a guiding coalition of dynamizers who carry the behaviors and constantly look for opportunities, and launching initiatives to capitalize on them.

Collaboration is a transformative journey, not a one-off project. Leaders who take the time to instill a culture of teamwork and collaboration will empower their organizations with the speed, adaptability, productivity, and innovation that is required to grow and thrive in a world of accelerated change. And on this journey, they’ll find that it’s worth the investment, as collaboration is equally powerful in its ability to support business goals as it is to thwart them.

I share the presentation with you.