Collaborative leadership: A critical distinction

Lynda Klau, Ph.D.

An important distinction needs to be made in the increasingly powerful field called Collaborative Leadership. There is a critical difference between a collaboration tha t results from two or more people who aren't sufficiently separate as individuals and a collaboration between individuals who are sufficiently whole.

The highest potential of a collaborative experience arises when everyone involved possesses their individual wholeness while participating in a collective experience that accesses a wisdom beyond the sum of the individuals involved. Having been transformed by this collaborative experience, each person is deepened, now carrying the collective wisdom within the individual self.

On the other hand, when two or more people who don't own enough of their separateness open their hearts and collaborate, the results are unpredictable, despite how powerful their union might feel. The wisdom that arises here risks being contaminated by the unresolved personal issues of the individuals involved. One of the great risks of this kind of collaboration is a dependency or addition to the experience of collectivity itself. The wisdom accessed may in fact be extraordinary and profound, but it will not be integrated fully on the personal level once the collaboration is over. As individuals, we must be alert and use our judgment to discern the value inherent in any collaboration, one situation at a time.

Today, indeed, collaboration is the next step in solving our personal, organizational and planetary complexities. However, the great solution to these problems is not collaboration alone. Only through the coming together of sufficiently evolved individuals will the nature of collectivity be truly productive. When we are first firmly grounded in the individual self, we can then begin to collaborate on a collective level that infinitely transcends our individuality while deeply honoring it.

©2008 Lynda Klau, Ph.D.

Download this article