As I sat early morning in my home office, enjoying the quietness of child free work time, the crown of my head was showered with sweet morning kisses from a passing 10 year old primary schooler. This kindness caused me to down tools, and question ‘Who is minding who?’ This brought me back to my Smurfit UCD Executive Coaching Diploma frame of mind, and I gathered the tools and techniques to reflect on what that intuitive action was bringing up for me. Was I coming up short in the traditional role of parent and child or was there something else at play?
In the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 landscape, as I look around the business, community and public ecosystem in Ireland, can this disruption serve as our ‘kiss on the crown’? Business, public systems, community and family life as we knew it, has shifted. The transformation and transition to a new normal is underway. With the ground underneath constantly moving, how can we lead in these times of uncertainty? Furthermore, the command and control style of leadership, with its strict hierarchical culture, has been giving way to more agile, shared and distributed models of leadership. What is collaborative leadership and how do you cultivate this?
Collaborative Leadership requires a new framework approach that is flexible, team centred, in order to foster collaboration, information sharing and empowerment. Collaborative Leadership is built on a system of connected networks. This new, fresh, responsive type of organisation will require different leadership competencies and tools: connecting actors & the ecosystem, attracting diverse talent, modelling collaboration, and a strong hand to keep collaboration on track. What could this mean for you?
Do you need to cast off the existing leadership coat, and buy into this new connected and collaborative approach? Will it challenge the fabric of your being? Might it challenge your view on how you perform at C-suite level? Could it surface vulnerability instead of robust strength? What is the team feedback signalling to you? Is it easier to stay the way you are right now?
On reflection, my daughter’s action stimulated the enquiry, which in turn has enabled me to continue unpacking my own long-held views and norms. This is in pursuit of my own growth challenge where ‘Taking Turns’ is becoming my new norm. I am proud to have been awarded my European Mentoring and Coaching Council Accreditation this June, and to be an Executive Coach in Ireland. I am proud of my three kids who serve as a constant learning loop in the development of my own kaleidoscope. I am grateful for the dedication of the Programme Team of Colm Murphy & Pamela Fay. I am looking forward to contributing to the Coaching profession, and to the story of Collaborative Leadership as it comes into focus.
Now that we are in this unfamiliar and new Covid-19 territory, is this the opportunity to reflect on your own leadership style? Is there an uncertainty coming up that may be a source of learning? Where you are ready to take your turn and connect on your own leadership style, contact info@clustercentre.ie
#collaborative #leadership #executive #coaching #reflective
