NITLE Shared Academics: Fostering a Collaborative Culture: Smart Change and Shared Leadership

Fostering a Collaborative Culture: Smart Change and Shared Leadership

Ann Hill DuinProfessor of Writing Studies

University of [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Fostering a Collaborative Culture Twitter: #NITLE

Framing Questions

• Why cultivate collaboration? • How might we foster smart change?• How might we foster shared leadership?• How might we measure its effectiveness?


Why cultivate collaboration?


Rationale Why cultivate collaboration?

• To pursue opportunities that are significant, urgent, and/or risky.

• To do together what cannot be done alone.• To expand reach.• To improve outcomes.• To achieve synergy and open doors to innovation.• To address a clear learner need.• To leverage resources, share infrastructure.• To respond to new markets, improve competitiveness.• To enhance access and pedagogy of learning.• Other…


Study of the implementation of shared leadership in 27 non-profit organizations over two years

“Organizations found that they could do more with less (funds) by doing more with more (leadership).” Allison, Misra, & Perry (2011, 32)



Study of the process of shared leadership in 45 teams found that

“Teams with shared leadership experienced less conflict, greater consensus, and higher intra-group trust and cohesion than teams without shared leadership.” Bergman et al. (2012, 17)



Real collaboration takes more than meetings and powerpoints.


Focus on transforming relationships.


Create spaces for reflection and deeper conversation.


Be anchored by a “backbone organization.”


Be open to changes in how they think and operate.


Indicators of Success

Cultivate:– adaptability within the

leadership spectrum – an orientation toward shared

leadership – a culture of trust

Be prepared to:– commit to change – stress across-the-board

engagement– invest time

Allison, Misra, & Perry (2011, 30)


How might we foster smart change?


Approaches to change

Routine change Strategic change Transformative change

1. Sustains status quo2. Leadership is solo3. Scope is siloed4. Applies routine expertise5. Focuses on policy

compliance6. Requires buy-in from

local management

1. Sustains status quo2. Leadership is a team3. Scope is bridged4. Applies strategic

expertise for redesign5. Focuses on planned

change6. Requires buy-in from

upper admin

1. Disrupts status quo2. Leadership is shared3. Scope is shared4. Applies adaptive

expertise to major challenges

5. Focuses on innovation6. Requires buy-in from

many levels

Baer, Duin, & Ramaley. (2008). Smart Change. Planning in Higher Education.



Transformative change…

is imperative for finding solutions when there are no clear answers, and results in significantly expanding core capacities because it demands that people work together differently.


Name a collaborative

initiative.

What type(s) of change does it represent?


Smart Change

Focuses on the future through– Leading over lagging indicators – Principles over practices– Scenarios over environmental scans– Evidence over anecdote– Leadership over management– Continuous over episodic improvement– Communication over sound bites– System over silos– Shared leadership over competition


How might we foster shared leadership?


One should not merely look to the designated leader for guidance, but rather that one should let logic dictate to whom one should look for guidance on the basis of individuals’ knowledge of the situation at hand.

Mary Parker Follett (1924)


Shared leadership occurs when group members actively and intentionally shift the role of leader to one another as necessitated by the environment or circumstances in which the group operates.

Pearce, Hoch, Jeppesen, & Wegge (2010, 151)


Conceptualize leadership as a more relational process, a shared or distributed phenomenon occurring at different levels and dependent on social interactions and networks of influence.

Fletcher & Kaufer (2003)


Shared leadership involves a process where all members of a team are fully engaged in the leadership of the team: Shared leadership entails a simultaneous, ongoing, mutual influence process involving the serial emergence of official as well as unofficial leaders.

Pearce, Manz, & Sims (2008, 353)


Shared leadership entails broadly sharing power and influence among a set of individuals rather than centralizing it in the hands of a single individual who acts in the clear role of a dominant superior.

Pearce, Manz, & Sims (2009)


Shared leadership is not a replacement for ‘leadership from above;’ rather, it works in conjunction with more traditional hierarchical leadership, thus giving an organization a more flexible, dynamic, robust and responsive leadership platform.

Manz et al. (2009, 237)


The gist…

Look beyond the designated leaderShift the role of leader as neededSee leadership as relational and emerging Lead together to achieve goalsFoster simultaneous, mutual influence


Approaches to Leadership

Vertical Identified by position in a

hierarchy Evaluated by whether the

leader solves problems Leaders provide solutions

and answers Distinct differences

between leaders and followers

Communication is formal

Shared Identified by the quality of a

person’s interactions Evaluated by how well

people are working together Leaders provide multiple

means to enhance the process

Members are interdependent

Communication is critical


Power of a collaborative

Transactions occur through networks of individuals engaged in reciprocal, preferential, mutually supportive actions… The parties agree to forego the right to pursue their own interests at the expense of others.

Weibler & Rohn-Endres (2010, 182)



1. Introduce yourselves to each other.

Listen for language.


Stage one: Talking nice

PoliteRepeat roles and rulesReproduce existing knowledgeLittle responsibility for joint tasks


2. Name a “tough” issue.

Identify disagreements…


Stage two: Talking tough

More open and authenticReveal rules and disagreementsAct in conflictStill little joint responsibility for outcomes


3. Inquire about the issue(s).

Ask questions.Listen to learn.


Stage three: Reflective dialogue

Reflective, curiousInquireListenBegin to create conditions for shared leadership


4. Find (name) one point of agreement.

Can you identify more?


Stage four: Generative dialogue

Aware of common groundGenerate rules togetherTranscend self interestGroup as a whole explores new ideas, shares responsibility


How will we measure its effectiveness?


Partnership BlueprintA metric for determining readiness

– Vision– Description– Beliefs– Assumptions– Operations– Commitment

– Collaboration– Risk– Control– Adaptation– Return (Value)

on investment


– Vision• What is the greater social good?

– Description• What is it? How will it affect my institution?

– Beliefs• What are the guiding, foundational principles?

– Assumptions• What will we achieve together from this change?

– Operations• How will it work? Is it feasible?

– Commitment• Are multiple levels committed to it?


– Collaboration• Is collaboration more important than competition?

– Control• Who is sharing leadership?

– Adaptation• How will the constituencies adapt to this new environment?

– Risk• What are the financial, legal, academic, and

experimentation risks?

– Return (value) on investment• What is your potential return on this change investment?

Expanded from Blueprint Model as discussed in Partnering in the Learning Marketspace, 2001.


Indicators of Success

• Launch• Maintain• Sustain


Launch

• Consortium or alliance existing prior to the project (pre-existing trust)

• Clarity of purpose/vision (meeting a clear need) and compatible missions

• Commitment (a clear lead unit; support)• Clear contribution from each partner• Champion• Communication• Capacity (e.g., technological)


“What made this work was having someone they [partners] could trust that they knew would not drop the ball.”

“Collaboration is the absolute key. Competition does not enter anywhere.”

“There was a sense from the beginning that everyone was a partner in the real sense; i.e., everyone would contribute to it, and it would contribute back… There was a common purpose: the target was the same.”


Maintain

• Mutual respect and trust• Understanding of intellectual property rights• Responsiveness (to partners and learners)• Patience, especially with the evolution of

partners• Frequent / regular communication; sharing

and networking• Commitment to embed the effort within

existing structures/policies• Perseverance to come to agreements


“All know that everyone else is doing something important.”

“We decided not to say, ‘Here’s one shoe; make it fit.’ Rather, we provided a shoe in a number of sizes.”

“It has fundamentally changed the way we do things… It required changing quite a few policies without changing standards. It took the engagement of many people to get this to happen.”


Sustain• Embedding of the project into

institutional structures, policies, procedures

• Income stream and the commitment of partners (includes contracts)

• Letters of agreement OR clear established networks


How will you foster a collaborative culture?


Attributes of Shared LeadershipCompetencies Authenticity Balancing

Polarity

Intelligence Demonstrates and values multiple literacies

Exhibits emotional intelligence

Works simultaneously on both poles of an issue

Communication Communicates and consults regularly to increase accessibility

Demonstrates values of collaboration and trust

Balances environment of openess/publicness with validity of information

Transparency Functions in multi-linear mode; networks and shares resources

Develops multidimensional leaders

Seeks multi-sector partners among competitors

Change Distinguishes between routine, strategic, and transformative change

Exhibits transformational leadership through a focus on shared vision

Seizes innovation as a balance between improving existing processes and creating new ones


http://iaa.ksu.edu/http://www.gpidea.org/policy-procedure/Alliance-Policy-Procedure-Manual.pdfhttp://www.gpidea.org/policy-procedure/appendices/appendix_e1.pdf

http://iaa.ksu.edu/

http://www.gpidea.org/policy-procedure/Alliance-Policy-Procedure-Manual.pdf

http://www.gpidea.org/policy-procedure/appendices/appendix_e1.pdf


References• Allison, M, Misra, S., & Perry, E. (2011). Doing more with more: Putting shared leadership into

practice. The Nonprofit Quarterly, Summer 2011, 30-37.• Bergman, J. Z., Rentsch, J. R., Small, E. E., Davenport, S.W., & Bergman, S. M. (2012). The

shared leadership process in decision-making teams. The Journal of Social Psychology, 152(1): 17-42.

• Fletcher, J. K., & Kaufer, K. (2003). Shared leadership: Paradox and possibility. In Shared Leadership: Reframing the Hows and Whys of Leadership. C. L. Pearce and J. A. Conger (eds). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 21-47.

• Follet, M.P. (1924). Creative experience. London: Longmans, Green.• Great Plains IDEA Policy and Procedure Manual.

http://www.gpidea.org/policy-procedure/Alliance-Policy-Procedure-Manual.pdf• Manz, C.C. Manz, K.P. Adams, S.B. and Shipper, F. (2011). A model of values-based shared

leadership and sustainable performance. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 21, 687-702.• Pearce, C.L., Hoch, J. E., Jeppesen, H., & Wegge, J. (2010). New forms of management: Shared

and distributed leadership in organizations. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 9(3): 151-153.• Pearce, C.L., Manz, C.C. & Sims, H.P., Jr. (2009). Where do we go from here?: Is shared

leadership the key to team success? Organizational Dynamics, 38: 234-238.• Sample agreements.

http://www.autm.net/AM/Template.cfm?Section=TechTransferResources&Template=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=7337

• Senge, P. (2013). Real collaboration takes more than meetings and power points. Network for Business Sustainability. http://nbs.net/real-collaboration-takes-more-than-meetings-and-powerpoints/

• Weibler, J., & Rohn-Endres, S. (2010). Learning conversation and shared network leadership. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 9(3): 181-194.

http://www.gpidea.org/policy-procedure/Alliance-Policy-Procedure-Manual.pdf



http://nbs.net/real-collaboration-takes-more-than-meetings-and-powerpoints/


Collabronauts

They journey from their home organization to forge new alliances and to explore creative opportunities, like leaving their home planet to bring back knowledge of strange new worlds and new civilizations…

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Evolve! (2001, 137)


They work out complicated dealings between and among partners, manage rumors, mount peace-keeping missions, and solve problems. They use personal friendships and powers of persuasion to sell people on the importance of helping a partner.

Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Evolve! (2001, 137)