Collaborative

REFLECTION​

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Avolio and Hannah (2008) describe leadership development as a “lifelong journey in which the individual interprets and makes meaning out of experiences that contribute to enhancing the individual’s understanding of self and leader development” (p. 334). Each of the selected artifacts contributed to a more robust understanding of myself and leadership development. I was fortunate to have had multiple positive collaborative experiences during this program.

The Team Competency Project was the most obvious inclusion in the artifact selection. The Final Report, a textbook chapter on motivation and reward systems, was almost a byproduct of the real focus of the course — how teams collaborate and work together effectively. Our first team meeting was spent on what seemed like token tasks. We established some team rules, set our meeting schedule, discussed each member’s strengths, and agreed to be honest and accountable. I was unaware at the time of how vital those seemingly benign processes would be. There were moments along the way when we needed these group rules to refocus the group on the agreed schedule, to hold one group member accountable for his failure to complete assigned tasks in a timely manner, and to have honest conversations when conflicts arose. True collaboration includes more than a collection of individuals; it takes intentionality, integrity, and commitment to work together effectively. Thankfully, this team worked well together even through the bumps in the road to produce a quality end result. The greatest lessons, however, were found in the process.

The Action Learning Coaching (ALC) process in LDRS 811 was a different sort of collaboration. David Pearce (2012) defines action learning as “a well-tried way of accelerating people’s learning so that they can handle difficult situations more effectively” (p. 115). Essentially, ALC is a process of intentional, multi-directional feedback that leads participants to learn from experience and build competence. I anticipated that the most challenging part of the process would be receiving feedback. I am a sensitive person by nature and am highly motivated to meet others’ expectations, so I have at times had difficulty hearing criticism. I was surprised, however, that the more difficult task was providing productive feedback. It can be simple to encourage others, but good feedback is more than that. Bridget Poetker (2022) offers nine tips for offering productive feedback to peers, among them are that feedback requires preparation, feedback should be specific, and feedback should be objective. This assignment stretched me to be more than a team member, but an effective collaborator, engaging with others’ contributions in meaningful ways and providing feedback that can specifically and objectively improve their work. 

The final artifact, the Case Study Teaching notes in LDRS 801, taught me a lesson about vulnerability and receiving feedback. The team worked to develop teaching notes on leadership theories uncovered by a case study. My portion of the assignment included writing the case study, epilogue, and discussion questions, all based on my experiences at the organization I worked for at the time. My first draft of the case study didn’t adequately address the leadership theories we were targeting, and my teammates provided some well-needed constructive criticism. Because the case study was intensely personal and tapped into some difficult experiences, I found it difficult to process this feedback at first. It felt like they were criticizing me when they were simply pointing out what was lacking that was essential to the project. Their input ultimately improved the project immensely, but I needed time to process it. It wasn’t until our next meeting that I was able to respond effectively and it was an inflection point that spurred our collaboration forward, I just wish I had been a more effective receiver in the moment.

Dr. David Burkus (2021) says, “Feedback isn’t a one-and-done intervention; it’s a process. You’re growing, changing, and improving all the time — and to do that you’ll need more feedback.” I want to continue growing, changing, and improving on a continual basis, so this is likely the largest area of growth for me. My personal development goal is to seek out more feedback and thank others for providing their thoughtful critiques. I have spent too much time isolating myself from criticism, but that is not the way of growth. When a team is set up effectively and all members feel safe in agreed-upon boundaries, feedback is not only palatable but essential.

In my current organization, collaboration is a way of life. Although I often work independently from home, I operate on a team of four individuals with unique skills and abilities. The team has experienced turnover in the last year, and we recently had an experience that incorporated the lessons I learned above. We recognized that due to new members joining and some responsibilities being reshuffled, we needed to come together and establish a better understanding of how the team would operate. We spent an entire day together working on team guidelines, discussing job descriptions and responsibilities, rules of how we wanted to interact with one another, and the strengths that each member brought to the team. We shared honestly about our personalities and how to treat one another with respect and honesty. We even shared some difficult feedback with one another about how we could be better teammates. It was not the easiest day of work I’ve experienced. In fact, it was uncomfortable at times. Yet it was the perfect opportunity to put into practice the lessons I have learned about collaboration in this program — the importance of team guidelines, the way to provide feedback in a way that is productive for other team members, and the chance to receive feedback with vulnerability and charity. Since that day, our team has operated in much healthier ways and I have been a much better team member. I am blessed to work in such a collaborative environment.