1. Collaborative Leadership: What is it and why should you care
Presented to:
National Leadership Conference for Students in Healthcare,
November 9, 2002
Betty Bekemeier
Judy McCree-Carrington
Turning Point Leadership Development
National Excellence Collaborative
BETTY
(2 minutes) Who we represent
represent a program funded by the RWJF, called Turning Point: Collaborating for a new century in public health
TP funds 21 states across the country to create major innovative changes in their PH systems at the state & local level
TP also funds 5 National Excellence Collaboratives—”think tanks” working on large complex PH issues
We are from the National Excell. Collab. on Collaborative Leadership
We will be talking to you today about Collaborative Leadership
Who we are
(2 minutes) Betty—
Public health nurse
Worked in ph at the local level for the majority of my career
Done clinical and field PHNsg, management, community assessment, epidemiology, community development, etc.
JUDY
(2 minutes) Judy—
Colorado Turning Point Program Coordinator
New to Public Health field, 5th & final (?) career change
Prev. worked in human resources & human services for a number of years. Have also been a probation officer and worked in the acctng. side of the oil & gas industry

2. Options for working together
Networking
Coordinating
Cooperating
Collaborating
JUDY
We understand that you will be working on projects in the community, in the near future (and probably over the long term too, if you are interested in PH!)
We were asked to help you understand what we consider to be one of the most important aspects of Leadership—that is the Collaborative form
Let’s start with getting some experience in forms of working together:
Introduce yourself to the people at your table-NAME
Find out one interesting thing about each person (# of mins.?)
….that was Networking
Tell 2 people what you do/what do you work on. Exchange this information at your table and decide who will present a few interesting facts to present to the group as a whole (# of mins.?)
…that was Coordinating---looking at what you do/they do and where there might be mutual benefit
Ask people to identify a way in which you can share one of your skills or the work that you do to further one another’s goals
…that was Cooperating
What resources do YOU have that could help the problem?
What type of information can you give me or what can you do to support my work?
Sharing resources, but not giving anything up
Each of us advancing our own goals w/ some common purpose
Resources are shared but I’m still controlling mine
No risk involved—chose to share your resources for a defined purpose
Ask people to work together to create something new at their table (could use name tags, silver ware, etc.) JMC – remember to ask the grp. to ensure everyone participates
…that was Collaborating
Sharing resources, enhancing capacity of everyone at the table, it’s not just you
Having a common purpose
Getting buy-in
(Possibly provide an example of the differences between cooperating and collaborating, e.g.: The Nat’l. Excel. Leadership Coll. States each give a specific amt. of $ to provide resources for the Collab. to exist and function. Once the money is placed in the pool, the States cannot request their money back and have shared input into how the money benefits the Collaborative versus just their own interests.)

3. What is collaboration?
Collaboration is based on the belief that “if you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared concerns of the organization or community”
Chrislip & Larson, 1994
JUDY
To understand collaborative leadership, it is important to understand what we mean by the term collaboration.
Collaborating is NOT Competing
creating an activity yourself & implementing your own idea COULD be seen as competition
Competitors usually don’t share information & are working on an idea that meets their own needs, not necessarily the communities’ needs
There are many definitions of collaboration
this definition by David Chrislip & Carl Larson gets at the heart of collaboration
-- that everyone brings value to the effort
Then read slide “what is collaboration?”…

4. What are Collaborative Leaders?
JUDY
Few researchers offer a definition for collaborative leadership in its own right.
This may be due to the fact that there is still some ambiguity regarding how to facilitate collaborative leadership.
We can agree on some key qualities of a collaborative leader.
David Chrislip and Carl Larson suggest the following qualities of collaborative leaders
(Show the book they wrote)

5. Collaborative Leaders
inspire commitment & action around problem solving, by
catalyzing,
convening,
energizing,
facilitating
lead as peer problem-solvers by helping groups
create visions & solve problems
NOT by making decisions & doing work for the group.
JUDY
From Chrislip and Larson again, Collaborative Leaders…
inspire commitment and action by catalyzing, convening, energizing, and facilitating others to create visions and solve problems
lead as peer problem-solvers by helping groups create visions and solve problems but not by making the decisions and doing the work for the group.

6. Collaborative Leaders
take responsibility for building broad-based involvement among people in the community
sustain hope & participation by
valuing all participation
helping set incremental & obtainable goals
Celebrating accomplishments along the way
JUDY
Collaborative leaders
take responsibility for building broad-based involvement among people in the community of appropriate community interests.
sustain hope and participation by valuing all participation and input and by helping set incremental and obtainable goals and celebrating accomplishments along the way

7. Qualities of Collaborative Leadership
JUDY
Our collaborative has worked to identify what we have described as critical skills and capacities of a Collaborative Leader.
There are MANY skills that a Collaborative leader must possess & many people have written about them.
We have done work together to describe that which is unique & necessary for a leader to be collaborative
The critical capacities that we will describe were identified through our own work w/:
An extensive review of the leadership literature
Surveys & Interviews with experts
Asking questions of a large panel of experts* & studying their discussion
Continued analysis of data & information about collaborative leadership at all levels in PH
Our group has decided to focus on the following 6 critical skills needed…..
I.E., Carl Larson, Kathy Kennedy, several of the Directors of the State Public Leadership Institutes

8. The 6 Critical skills and capacities
Developing Trust & Creating Safety
Self-Reflection
Sharing Power
Assessing the Environment
Developing Clarity of Vision
Mentoring & Coaching
Judy ~ Read off all at once
Then elaborate on first 3 next

9. Critical skills and capacities
Developing Trust & Creating Safety
Self-Reflection
Sharing Power
JUDY
Developing Trust and Creating Safety (example by Judy)
Self-Reflection – Personal quality improvement
Sharing Power and Influence (example by Judy)
Part of being successful w/ these above skills is having
Ego Control (ability to empower others)
Respect (cooperative spirit)
Maturity
Patience

10. Critical skills and capacities
Assessing the Environment
Developing Clarity of Vision
Mentoring & Coaching
BETTY
Assessing the Environment for Collaboration (example by Betty)
Developing Clarity – Visioning & Mobilizing
Developing People – Mentoring & Coaching (example by Betty)

11. A Collaborative Leader must also...
Expect uncertainty!
Take perspective on self & others!
BETTY
A Collaborative Leader must have the capacity for:
Uncertainty (high tolerance for role ambiguity; flexibility)
Taking Perspective (understanding and empathy for others/ability to see commonalties; sensitivity to diversity)
Self-reflection

12. Could you be a Collaborative Leader?
BETTY

13. The Heifitz & Sinder Scale
Type 1 Problems
An expert knows the solution!
Type 2 Problems
The expert diagnoses & the team solves!
Type 3 Problems
Collaboration needed for diagnosis AND solutions!
BETTY
Heifitz & Sinder Scale—describes the complexity of problems
Type I (e.g.: Patient diagnosed w/cancer goes to oncologist for expert advice and treatment)?
An expert knows the solution
Problem is clear
Solution is clear
Leadership role is focused on the expert
Type II (e.g.: Military fighting a war, Coach leading a football team to victory)?
Solution is not clear
Expert dxs the problem, but the group solves the problem
Type III (e.g.: teen pregnancy)
Many PH problems are Type III—e.g. health disparities
Problem is not clear
Leadership role is collaborative
Diverse input and perspective is required for problem id and solution

14. Why is collaborative leadership important NOW?
Today’s world chaotic & complex
Skills needed to address today’s problems don’t exist in any one person
Problems don’t affect just 1 system, so can’t be solved by just 1 system or group
BETTY
The world is changing… becoming “smaller” thro technology (flight travel, telecommunications etc) & becoming larger thro technology - access to endless amts of information.
Today’s world is one of chaos & complexity
The problems of today are bigger & more complex.
The complex skills needed to address today’s problems don’t exist in any one person… “the lone ranger isn’t anymore...”
The skills & abilities to address these complex problems will not be found in 1 person. The answers are local…. The answers are global….
Problems such as drug addiction, air pollution, etc affect many systems
(drugs—judicial system, personal safety, youth getting educated, etc; pollution—personal health, business interests & jobs, costs of clean up, technology for monitoring etc.)
(Chrislip and Larson quote again ….”bringing the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good info, & they will create authentic visions & strategies for addressing the shared concerns of the organization or comty” (Chrislip & Larson, 1994)
From a presentation by Boeings chief “people and administrative officer”…”the primary tool of today’s employee is intellectual capital, today’s employee s recognize that the power of ideas is multiplied many-fold through collaboration.”

15. What is the role of Turning Point?
Vision: Collaborative leadership is used to its fullest potential to achieve policy & systems change that maximizes the public's health.
Mission: Increase collaborative leadership capacity across sectors & at all levels
BETTY
Vision: Collaborative leadership is used to its fullest potential to achieve policy and systems change that maximizes the public's health.
Mission: Increase collaborative leadership capacity across sectors and at all levels

16. “We have discovered that it is one thing to embrace the concepts of collaborative leadership, but it is an entirely different thing for the agency to be organized to achieve this goal”
Rago 1996
BETTY
Leaders of most organizations today most likely agree that collaborative leadership is an important aspect of success. (Rago notes the quote above - p 33 lit. review of TP) however, most organizations don’t know enough about how to recognize, develop and support collaborative leadership in their organizations.
The vision and mission of turning point are about systems change through collaboration & broad partnerships for shared decision making.

17. How will Turning Point achieve the mission and vision?
BETTY

18. Assessment
Inventory the state of training & best practices for collaborative leadership
Describe how, when, why and where collaborative leadership is effectively used
Develop an understanding of collaborative leadership & how it is effective in mobilizing communities.
BETTY
First we will assess...
Inventory the state of training & best practices for collaborative leadership
Describe how, when, why and where collaborative leadership is effectively used
Develop an understanding of collaborative leadership & how it is effective in mobilizing communities.

19. Development Describe skills & competencies of collaborative leadership
Articulate the benefits of using collaborative leadership
Document & share stories that model the process of collaborative leadership in Turning Point experiences.
Assist Turning Point partners in implementing collaborative leadership practices and techniques.
BETTY
Describe skills & competencies of collaborative leadership
Articulate the benefits of using collaborative leadership
Document & share stories that model the process of collaborative leadership in Turning Point experiences.
Assist Turning Point partners in implementing collaborative leadership practices and techniques.
In order to do these things, we have created models, training, & curriculum for CL
Series of short videos are nearly complete—depicting each of the 6 critical capacities
Self assessment tool to assess your own abilities to be truly collaborative
A full curriculum providing training in the critical capacities

20. Demonstrate Value/Advocacy
Help others understand the value of collaborative leadership
Help others understand how collaborative leadership fits in their setting.
Link collaborative leadership to the 10 essential public health services.
Advocate for the teaching of collaborative leadership - in leadership trainings, professional schools & in communities.
BETTY
Then we will advocate…...
Help everyone who is working to improve community health understand the value of collaborative leadership
Help people in all settings and sectors understand how collaborative leadership fits in their setting.
Link collaborative leadership to the 10 essential services.
Advocate so collaborative leadership is taught - in leadership trainings, institutes, professional schools and communities..

21. Collaborative leadership...
Isn’t easy
Isn’t always natural
It isn’t even entirely valued yet
“we have a situation where collaboration has become this wonderful espoused virtue, but the larger culture does not reward that.” (Hugh O’Doherty)
JUDY

22. Why collaborate now?
…because the solutions of the future can only come when we “bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, and they create authentic visions and strategies for addressing their shared concerns”
Chrislip and Larson 1994
JUDY
We are living in a complex networked world where our focus must be out --rather than in.
We are just beginning to understand the new collaborative skills that will make us successful in building trusting and honest relationships

23. Leadership Challenge…
Are you ready to be a collaborative leader?
What will it take for you be ready?
JUDY
Engage students in a Leadership Challenge of their own…