How to Make Collaboration Work, Essay Example

An example of how I was rewarded by my employer and why this meant something to me

A leader integrates others in a common vision by establishing a one -to-one modality of communicating with their constituents. Constituents must have faith that their leaders possess their interest at heart. Leadership is about dialogue which entails an accurate evaluation of the aspirations, values, hopes and dreams of their constituents. Leadership is about showing people the way, by explaining how and why they should follow and their contribution towards reaching the desired destination and the meaning of success (Huxham & Siv 2000).

My past participation and enthusiasm in volunteer work made me compatible to the role relegated to me in Xunwen Office of Poverty Alleviation as a Volunteer researcher. My one month involvement as a volunteer researcher showed me the need for a leader to be communicative, dialoging, setting goals and predicting the quality of success. Cathy was the coordinator of the research program which was to be carried out by a team of 6, Cathy and I included.

Cathy’s leadership was based on motivating the entire team towards strength, capability, and commitment. Moreover Cathy continually ensured that each team member perceived a sense of leadership within the project. Her style of seeking opinions by ensuing discussions amongst the team members was unique since she built capacity in a participatory effort in each team member.

What leadership is not about and what it is?

A leader is not about rhetoric, actions out of hearsay, or acting out of emotions. A leader is not about expressing authority over subordinates and suppressing the opinions of others. Leadership is not about personality it is about behavior that wins a leader the respect that is deserved. Leadership is not about waiting for opportunities to come by. A leader motivates workers towards achieving intended objectives in the organization and promotes a good environment for workers to feel satisfied in their workplace. A leader takes the clot of transforming visions into realities, risks into rewards and obstacles into innovations. Leadership is an art of modeling the way through deliberate involvement and action in order to earn the respect, the right and the confidence of leading because a leader leads and others follow.  Leadership is about acquiring dreams that are based on personal belief, consequently activated by confidence in order to make extraordinary things happen. In a word leadership is not about waiting to implement luck but to venture into the unknown and innovate opportunities, develop them and finally implement them (Huxham and Siv 2000). A leader then inspires and shares their vision with others by giving them an opportunity to be in the process as partners to the idea and not as subordinates to the idea.

Works cited

Huxham, Chris, & Siv Vangen. Leadership in the shaping and implementation of collaboration agendas: how things happen in a (not quite) joined up world. The Academy of Management Journal,  2000.

Straus, David. How to make collaboration work. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler publishers 2002.