Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference. - book reviews

Business Horizons, May-June, 1995 by Joseph C. Santora, James C. Sarros

For communities to prosper and grow, government and its citizens must work together to solve many local problems. Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference provides readers with an opportunity to view collaborative leadership at work in the public sector. The book is divided into three major sections: Part 1, "The Case for Collaboration" (two chapters); Part 2, "Leadership Strategies for Effective Collaboration" (five chapters); and Part 3, "New Vision of Leadership and Civic Action" (two chapters). It also contains two appendices--the research project and a measurement instrument to assess collaboration.

Chapter 1, "The Promise of Collaboration,'' frames the need to address the issue of collaboration based on the assumption that traditional leadership methods have failed miserably. Local citizens feel removed from the political process and thereby have limited participation in public policy. Through collaboration with civic leaders and others, citizens can direct their own lives. As a backdrop, the authors furnish some examples of collaboration in a variety of business, educational, and community health settings. This chapter ends by proposing that we dismantle preventive barriers to allow communities the opportunity to undertake the massive work of solving indigenous problems.

Chapter 2, "The Challenges to Traditional Leadership," discusses how current political, social, and cultural perspectives are confronting traditional leadership in many ways. Two American communities are profiled through brief vignettes: Cleveland, Ohio and the Clark Fork River Basin, Montana. The authors discuss some of the major stumbling blocks that have prevented change: the old boys' network, interest groups, the complexity of issues, and the notion of individualism. They also believe the failure to solve problems is embedded in the political structure, which has brought about an inordinate amount of discontent on the part of citizens. They conclude the chapter by comparing the philosophies of John Dewey and Walter Lippmann on community.

Chapter 3, "Leadership Strategies for Effective Collaboration," presents six cases of successful collaboration: the Phoenix Future Forum, the Baltimore Commonwealth, the Newark Collaboration Group, Citizens for Denver's Future, Roanoke Vision, and the American Leadership Forum (ALF). The authors devote the remainder of the chapter to a discussion of ten keys to successful collaboration:

1. good timing and a clear need;

2. strong stakeholder groups;

3. broad-based involvement;

4. credibility and openness of the program;

5. commitment and/or involvement of high-level, visible leaders;

6. support or acquiescence of established authorities of power;

7. overcoming restraint and skepticism;

9. interim success; and

10. a shift to broader concerns.

Chapter 4, "Setting the Stage for Success," begins by citing some Machiavellian principles. It moves to a discussion of two major motives to collaborate--need and timing--and it provides examples of collaborative efforts: Citizens for Denver's Future (CDF) and Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD). Next, the authors present and discuss a context for leadership. Finally, they compare collaborative efforts to a new business paradigm--the virtual corporation.

Chapter 5, "Creating a Constituency for Change," outlines conditions for successful collaboration. It focuses on individual motivation (vision, energy, and inspiration) as one of the major components of successful collaboration. In essence, it is leadership that drives the process. Brief anecdotal cases bolster the authors' views of such efforts.

Chapter 6, "Building and Sustaining Momentum," centers on the ways to promote and sustain successful collaborative initiatives. Elements of this include: (1) building trust through informal exploration, shared ownership, celebration of success, and the creation of powerful, impelling experience; (2) leading the process through safeguarding, facilitating, and practicing patience; and (3) pursuing a common goal. The authors conclude the chapter by reminding us to follow their advice to attain success in collaborative endeavors.

Chapter 7, "Producing Results that Matter," begins by briefly describing effective leaders and by citing leadership scholars James MacGregor Bums, John Kotter, James Kouzes, and Barry Posner. The authors then supply readers with the major premise on which collaborative leadership rests: "If you bring the appropriate people together in constructive ways with good information, they will create authentic visions and strategies for addressing the shared consensus of the organization or community" (pp. 108-109). Chrislip and Larson believe results are the key to collaboration, and they cite six specific actions that produced results in the groups available.

Chapter 8, "Skills for a New Kind of Leadership," is by far the best chapter of the book. The authors move away from tactical (heroic) and positional approaches by discussing four principles of collaborative leadership: (1) inspiring commitment and action, (2) leading as a peer problem solver, (3) building broad-based involvement, and (4) sustaining hope and participation. They assert that their version of leadership is consistent with the views of MacGregor Burns, Robert Greenleaf, Kotter, Kouzes, and Posner.