The ability of teams to collaborate and cooperate effectively is an essential factor for success in the workplace.
Collaboration and cooperation across teams can be a force multiplier, effectively allowing a small number of people create a disproportionately large impact.
For example, Zippia reports that “top-performing workers spend 45% of their time on the job working individually, 45% of their time on the job working collaboratively, and 10% of their time on the job learning and socializing.”
That could be 45% of time spent in frustration with few results, or it could be 45% of a worker’s time spent in fruitful collaboration. That sounds like it is pretty important to get right!
In the past, we have provided tips on how to improve collaboration across teams. In this article, we will focus on the leadership skills that are critical to creating such environments.
Strong leadership is essential for creating a culture of collaboration and cooperation within a team, and there are three key skills that every leader must possess in order to achieve this: effective communication, emotional intelligence, and flexibility and adaptability.
If you’d like a professional leadership coach to help you walk through any of these skills and develop a customized plan for growth, schedule your free 15-minute consultation today.
Critical leadership skill #1: effective communication
Explanation of how effective communication is vital for fostering collaboration and cooperation
Clear and transparent communication helps team members understand their roles and responsibilities.
Without an effective leader who is communicating openly, team members may be unclear about the objectives and very unlikely to collaborate in the same direction.
A strong leader keeps everyone informed and on the same page, making it much easier for the team to work together effectively.
Regular communication helps build trust and fosters a sense of shared purpose across teams.
For example, remote teams may struggle to build rapport and trust when working over long distances.
By frequently communicating with team members, leaders can demonstrate their commitment to the group and help develop positive relationships.
Regular one-on-one meetings can also give leaders an opportunity to provide direct feedback to individual team members and address any issues that may be preventing effective collaboration.
Team meetings with everyone on the team can also be helpful by giving team members a chance to catch up, share progress and brainstorm ideas collaboratively.
These team meetings can also be a key part of a communication strategy that ensures everyone knows what they’re supposed to be doing and can thus support other team members in moving the ball forward together.
For some specific tips on growing in communication abilities, see the third leadership skill in our guide for emerging leaders.
In addition to the tips in the above article, some ways to developing effective communication skills and create more effective collaboration include:
- Listen actively to team members – we have written a great deal about this on our leadership blog (see here and here). Why? Because active listening is critical to truly effective leadership.
- Be clear and direct in your messaging – when giving directions to team members, be specific and provide enough information so that they understand what is expected of them. Whenever possible, provide feedback in the moment so that team members can quickly understand the impact of their actions and be better able to collaborate with others
- Encourage team members to communicate openly with each other – provide a safe environment where people can freely express their ideas, even if they might be controversial. Model openness and vulnerability with your team(s).
- Use appropriate mediums to communicate (e.g. email, in-person, video conferencing) – different types of communication work better for different types of conversations. For example, email works great for distributing information quickly, but not so much for having a deeper conversation. Sometimes it is easier to just hop on a Zoom call and speak directly than exchanging endless emails that are easily misunderstood. Know your context, who you need to say, and what you need to say to them, then choose the medium accordingly.
Critical leadership skill #2: emotional intelligence
Leaders with high emotional intelligence (EQ) are able to deeply understand the emotions of their team and, in turn, foster a culture of trust, appreciation and collaboration.
The importance of emotional intelligence really can’t be overstated.
The World Economic Forum puts it in clear terms: “TalentSmart tested emotional intelligence alongside 33 other important workplace skills, and found that emotional intelligence is the strongest predictor of performance, explaining a full 58% of success in all types of jobs.”
In other words, emotional intelligence is the factor that leads to high performance in the workplace.
We have already produced a guide to developing emotional awareness for leaders, but below we’ll apply EQ specifically to fostering collaboration.
Leaders with high emotional intelligence are able to identify, understand, and effectively manage their own emotions, as well as those of their team members.
This is especially critical for collaboration across teams because when team members don’t understand each other’s emotions, it can lead to misunderstandings, tension, and conflict.
High EQ leaders use their emotional intelligence to create an open environment where everyone feels comfortable expressing their ideas, concerns, and feelings.
These leaders are also adept at motivating their team and creating a culture of trust and collaboration through an understanding of each team member’s individual strengths and weaknesses.
Highly emotionally intelligent leaders are also able to empathize with their team members and recognize the value they each bring, which helps create a sense of belonging.
This in turn encourages an atmosphere of collaboration. When everyone is respected and valued, and team members feel comfortable to communicate their thoughts, feelings and ideas.
Highly emotionally intelligent leaders are also able to provide positive reinforcement to their team members, recognizing their successes and appreciating their efforts.
Regular recognition is particularly critical for working across teams, because it is easy for people to feel ignored or overlooked.
Critical leadership skill #3: flexibility and adaptability
Collaboration requires the ability to adjust quickly to changing circumstances and the willingness to take a different approach when needed.
While it is critical for everyone to be flexible and adaptable when collaborating across teams, this is something that must be modeled from the leader down.
Leaders need to be able to adapt to the different perspectives, needs, and working styles of their team members in order to foster collaboration and cooperation across multiple teams.
Flexible leaders are open to learning from their team members and this helps them develop more effective strategies for achieving their goals — or even changing their goals if needed.
By being flexible, leaders can also accommodate different perspectives among their team and encourage creative problem-solving.
What does flexibility and adaptability look like in action?
One common example is implementing new processes or technologies in response to changing market conditions.
To give a specific example, a leader might put together a team to develop an app that integrates with the company’s e-commerce platform.
He or she might then realize that they need to quickly pivot to a mobile-first solution to stay competitive in the market.
To meet this goal, the leader could quickly assemble a new team — or pivot the previous team’s focus — to develop the app and begin working on the project right away.
The key here is not being bound to one approach or solution.
Flexible leaders also encourage experimentation and risk-taking within the team.
That is, they understand that failure is a part of the learning process and create an environment where team members feel comfortable trying new approaches and ideas.
This is part of the now-famous “fail fast” approach. It’s all about understanding that failure is part of the process and learning from it in order to move forward and reach goals.
You might understand this on paper, but are you practicing it? Do you actually have a culture where failure is encouraged as part of the learning process?
If not, it’s time to start modeling it by becoming a more a flexible and adaptable leader who is willing to try new things and fall flat on your face if needed.
The important thing is not doing it perfectly the first time but rather making steady progress in the right direction.
Conclusion
This article has discussed three key leadership skills that are essential for fostering collaboration across teams: clear communication, emotional intelligence, and flexibility and adaptability.
Effective leaders use clear and concise communication to ensure that there is no misunderstanding among their team members.
They also employ emotional intelligence to create an open and trusting environment for their team members to express their ideas and feelings.
Finally, they exhibit flexibility and adaptability to quickly adjust to changing market conditions and facilitate creative problem-solving. All of these skills and traits are essential for any leader looking to develop successful collaboration across teams.
Every high-impact leader needs to develop and cultivate these skills in order to foster collaboration and cooperation among team members and create a more effective organization.
For many more resources to help you on your leadership journey, be sure to check out our leadership blog or meet with one of our trained coaches.