Report: 9th Career Development Workshop, September 16, 2000

Beata Lewis: Collaborative Leadership Skills

Report by Kitty de Jong, Ph.D.

Beata Lewis used to work as an attorney and in that function realized that in this society we get a lot done, at a very fast pace, but we pay very little attention to HOW things are done, that process of getting there. Because of this, people do not get valued. Good collaboration is the essence of this process.

The workshop, which was well attended, started with us thinking about our expectations for the day. Getting out attention with her special bell, Beata listed things that she viewed as important in leadership. For yourself: take responsibility for your own needs; stand up fast after you fall. Towards others: be aware of the needs of others; be willing to meet those needs ("do unto others as THEY would have done unto themselves"); understand what motivates them; know their objectives; understand different expectations; understand their strengths and weaknesses and implement these in their assignments.

We did a number of exercises in small groups on the topic of collaboration. Reflecting first on ourselves, then on others, and then on the projects, we addressed the question: "What characteristics do I notice and appreciate when collaboration is like I like it to be?" We then shared our top 6 collaboration challenges with the group.

Beata next focused on the role of trust in collaboration. We thought about conflict resolution, and the roles of communication, affirmation, and underlying values in this process. With some interesting illustrations, Beata pointed out how our behavior can change dependent on who is present in the situation. We each defined our own understanding of trust. Keywords that came up in the group were: to speak honestly without fear; honor my commitment; predictability; respect, feeling valued; selflessness; willing to admit misunderstanding; open, supportive, with no judgment; confidence in others' abilities. We thought about situations where we were or were not trustworthy ourselves, and listed incidences of betrayal that we had experienced. She introduced her model of competence, contractual (character) and communication (disclosure) trust, addressed the concept "transactional" versus "transformative" trust: the formerr being more concrete and the form of trust that most people had issues with, and the latter being more under the surface (trust just because). Beata presented her model of how to deal with betrayal (breach of trust): observe and acknowledge what has happened; allow your feelings to surface; get support; reframe the experience; take responsibility for your role; forgive first yourself and then others; finally, let go and move on. In her closure, she emphasized again the essence of recognizing the other person in a collaboration, and to that person's needs.