Written by: Julia Felton, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Increasingly leaders are beginning to understand the power that the environment plays in business and how everything that happens is interconnected. An individual, a team and an organisation do not exist in isolation but rather, they are part of a complex eco-system, where one part impacts the next.
Consequently, traditional leadership thinking that focuses on the “me rather than we” approach is becoming outdated. Great leaders understand that business is never about them and their ego but rather about how they can serve those that they work with – either directly or indirectly. This results in leaders having to adopt an eco-system mindset.
So what is an eco-system mindset?
An eco-system mindset involves having an 'outside in' perspective. It means that rather than thinking first about self and team and then what could come from partnering with other individuals and teams, the ecosystem mindset turns this on its head and looks at the vision, purpose and strategy for the whole, and then sees the parts that individuals and teams could contribute.
This can be challenging because at some point, an individual or team may need to step aside for the good of the ecosystem, something not everyone is ready to embrace yet. However, when individuals and teams adopt an eco-system mindset, they are better positioned to accept or even make this choice because they are able to see additional opportunities where they can contribute and make an impact.
Amy Edmondson, in her book Teaming, writes that 'fast-moving work environments need people who know how to team, people who have the skills and flexibility to act in moments of potential collaboration when and where they appear.'
In the VUCA world in which we will, where adaptability and flexibility are key to navigating uncertainty, the eco-system mindset focuses on opportunities for hyper-collaboration, where the people, projects, and even the processes and approaches that are prioritised shift constantly. In this environment, rather than focusing on team effectiveness at the level of the team, it is more effective to develop teaming skills in every individual.
Then, no matter which team a person is on, they can contribute to its success by bringing their skills for being an effective team member. The effectiveness of a team where all team members bring a teaming skillset never depends on just one person, making it resilient in the face of the changes and challenges hyper-collaboration brings.
The development of the COVID vaccine is one such example. No one company had the answer in isolation but by working together, there were many partnerships were formed, some of them quite unlikely, that allowed this innovative vaccine to be created and made available in such a short time frame.
Hyper-collaboration is a concept based on the belief that most effective team outputs will result from collaborations with other, sometimes unexpected, partners. Partners that have a completely new perspective on the current issues we are facing. This diversity and variety of complementary capabilities coming together to solve a particular problem create success rather than stability and longevity.
If you thought about challenges this way, and knew that a solution already existed somewhere, but most likely not in the first place you looked, how would that change your approach?
Four avenues that you might want to explore:
Look for the unexpected: consciously think outside the box and explore opportunities and partnerships in other industries/sectors
Expand your reach: when it comes to hyper-collaboration it’s a case of the more the merrier. The more diverse the perspective the more opportunities for a significant breakthrough. Sure, more partners is challenging to manage but the benefits significantly outweigh the challenges.
What new technology can you adopt: when used appropriately technology can be a great enabler of change, so what technology can you apply from related industries to help solve your problems.
Embrace change: the only certainty is that there will be change so make sure to inform and educate all stakeholders about what is happening and ensure they understand how this relates to the overall purpose and mission of the business.
Finally, given the increasingly complicated needs we are facing, in our teams, organisations, regions, and even in the world, hyper-collaboration is likely to increase even further. We can prepare people for successful hyper-collaboration by building an eco-system mindset and teaming skills in everyone in our organisation.
This is not something that will happen overnight, but with consistent action we can help move the needle and in doing so create empowered, productive teams that are agile and can respond to the uncertain conditions in which we all now live.
Follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook and visit my website for more on leadership and reinventing business. I also invite you to download my free eBook on Leading Teams Through Uncertainty and check out my latest book – Unbridled Business – on Amazon.
Julia Felton, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Julia Felton (aka The Business Wrangler) is the founder of Business HorsePower, a leadership and team engagement company. She is passionate about disrupting the status quo and discovering new ways to run and lead businesses, so they are fit for purpose in the 21st century. She believes that a model on how to reinvent business exists in nature and herds of horses that embrace the principles of connection, collaboration, and community to work effectively together. By aligning purpose with actions, the team achieves exponential results because everyone starts pulling in the same direction and feels inspired to show up for work every day, knowing they are making a difference in the world. Julia is a leading authority on Unbridled Leadership. The author of two books, Unbridled Business: Unlocking Nature’s Wisdom To Reinvent Leadership & Unbridled Success: How The Secret Lives of Horses Can Impact Leadership, Teamwork & Communication. She is the host of IMPACTFUL: The Podcast and a C-Suite and CEO Mentor, consultant, trainer, and speaker.
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