Struggles with Collaborative Leadership and Five Ways to Overcome Challenges

Wondering how to structure your ministry or organization? Let’s talk about collaborative leadership.

Collaborative leadership is a leadership management practice in which members of a leadership team work together to make decisions (eliminating silos) in order to keep an organization prospering. Collaborative leadership moves away from the old top-down model where a small group of ‘leaders’ (or even one person) control the flow of it all. In other words, it’s collective efficacy. And it’s biblical!

Consider Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, “Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm; But how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.”

We often view these passages of scripture from the viewpoint of marriage; however, the truth of this principle is there’s obvious power in numbers. In other words, do not cut yourself off from community. Not everyone gets this. Because of egotism many leaders bring harm to others and hinder the effectiveness of their own teams. In doing so, these leaders demonstrate their weakness as a leader rather than their strengths as a leader. You can recognize this type of leader because they seem to take credit for all the success of the organization. You’ll also recognize this leader because it’s hard for them to give praise to another leader … and in the end, it is evidence that the solo leader struggles with collaborative leadership.

The truth is, most leadership challenges are not life-or-death struggles, but rather an assortment of subtle problems causing some level of anxiety, especially around church leadership. Collaborative leadership is one of those areas in leadership that can be an irritant. Let’s face it, not every leader is good with shared leadership, not every leader is good working with others or sharing a workload, and not every leader is good at sharing the glory.

Sometimes we struggle with collaborative leadership because of painful experiences we’ve gone through when attempting to be part of a team. It’s been painful to put in the work and not be given the rightful credit due. If you are in church leadership, you might resonate with the awful experience of hearing your idea or conversation communicated across the pulpit (without your permission). You may have had someone sabotage or steal your project efforts so they can come out smelling like a rose. What an irritant! Sometimes we struggle with collaborative leadership simply because we are stingy with allowing others to receive the attention. This can be due to our own insecurities.

Whether you struggle with collaborative leadership because of pain that has come to you, or you fall within the camp of still growing with being comfortable with shared leadership, I want to give you five principles I believe will help to move us beyond the struggle of collaborative leadership and align with God’s desire for his chosen people. They are:

1. Learn to understand the components of this leadership model. According to scholars Sanaghan & Lohndorf (2015), collaborative practices are used to achieve results, not to make people ‘feel’ engaged or ‘feel’ involved. Feeling engaged and involved is a by-product of authentic collaboration.

2. Leaders work with other leaders. A mark of maturity is your willingness to attract, work with, and learn from other leaders. The best leaders are not loners who are delusional that they can do it on their own according to Dr. Jeff Igor. When you refuse to share the glory, it represents a lack of maturity and need for further growth on your part.

3. Understand collaborative leadership from God’s perspective. I think we all understand that sometimes it’s just easier to get the job done alone, but this is not God’s design. A refusal to be a collaborative leader, irrespective of your reasoning for not wanting to engage in collaboration, is opposite to what we see in Scripture about the act of leadership and growth. (Romans 12:3-8)

4. Start slow! If you’ve not been a collaborative leader, begin by looking for ways to work with others, allowing them to share in decision points that you respect. This is a conscientious and deliberate action. Actively seek out ways to do engage others in decision making. Set goals for yourself in this area, purposefully sharing information that you would otherwise keep to yourself, learning to listen, asking others for their thoughts and input. Practice, practice, practice. Get in the game of collaborative behaviors.

5. Pray. No, it’s not that simple. It is sometimes very difficult to take things to God that we struggle with. However, when we earnestly pray regarding areas we know are contrary to God’s Word in our lives, God will truly come in and help us to overcome the struggle. Proverbs 3:5 & 6 “Trust in the Lord with all you heart and lean not unto thy own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.”

Resources

Collaborative Leadership by Patrick Sanaghan