Earlier this week, General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt called for a new type of leader for the 21st century—a leader who moves beyond his or her own individual intelligence to bring the collective wisdom of teams to bear on the complex challenges all organizations face. According to Immelt, leaders need to keep their own egos in check, seek input from others and really listen to new ideas—a sentiment echoed by Harvard voice, John Baldoni.
I must admit that in the early years of my career in leadership, I saw collaboration as something that you did to get people on board and to make them feel included. I already knew what I thought the best course of action was and I just needed to sell the idea to those around me. However, the type of collaboration that Immelt is talking about is different and far more genuine. It is also based on research which has proved that when properly facilitated, teams make better decisions than any individual on the team would make on his or her own.
But, how do you move beyond the rhetoric? Do you do this in practice? A research-based technique called round tabling, offered in our Collective Wisdom ½-day program, can teach you how.
