Great Leadership Is Collaboration

Collaboration takes the leader off the cross of perfectionism. Suddenly, she doesn't have to have every single answer. She doesn't have to posture, or mask her sense of self-doubt. Now, all she has to do is say, "Here is the situation. Tell me, what would you do?"

Good leadership asks that question.

Great leadership creates structures that make every single employee part of the answers.

Phenomenal leadership steps into the creative day-to-day of questioning, discovering, building relationships, and taking the adventure of building business together.

Our current corporate format is based literally on an army structure (the Prussian Army is the model for our early 19th Century setup of the organizational chart). As a result, the leader turns to the officer below her, and s/he turns to the officer below and so on, leaving all of the "Privates" - that is, the employees - out of conversation and input.

​In so doing, we lose unimaginable amounts and types of creativity, problem-avoidance, problem-solving, and experiential wisdom. There is, in fact, a much better way.

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Leave the Army to its business, and let's get to the business of human beings, which is what our businesses are truly made of.

By becoming a true leader - someone committed to human needs for involvement, respect, meaning - you begin to be the manager, the supervisor, who all of your employees can be honest with. Trust grows. Interdependence grows. Attrition shrinks and engagement grows.

Trust is key, and it is born of authentic connection from someone who stands on the front lines, so to speak, with​ you, rather than simply sending you into battle - a private without voice, feedback or contribution.

Or, we can continue to follow a structure that has one goal: to overcome or win.

A phenomenal leader knows that the winning comes before business success, and ensures it.