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10 Ways Leaders Can Foster Collaboration

Malcolm WebberMalcolm Webber

Having first conceived the vision, the leader must now shift the vision to those who will actually be responsible for bringing it to pass. This process began when the leader shared the vision with the people. Now he must accomplish “vision-shift.” He must actually give away the capacity to fulfill the vision. He must build a team that will act on the vision and bring it to pass.

According to the New Testament, the role of the leader is not merely to do the ministry but to equip the people to minister.

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up… From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (Eph. 4:11-16)

For many spiritual leaders this is a radical shift in mindset: to become a team-builder instead of being someone who just does it all himself – to move from focusing on the task to focusing on the people.

The relationships of the team members are the organization’s key assets, and leaders must know how to nurture them. In building a strong team out of people with diverse and sometimes conflicting interests, leaders must develop cooperative goals, seek integrative solutions and build trusting relationships, through:

Nothing truly great occurs without the active involvement and support of many people. Fulfilling the purpose of God for our organizations must be everyone’s responsibility, and good leaders promote teamwork rather than competition as the road to success. Competition (which is trying to beat others) is vastly different in purpose from collaboration (which is trying to do well together). Competition is the old paradigm; collaboration is the new.

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