Collaboration Begins with You by Ken Blanchard

Author:Ken Blanchard
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Published: 2015-03-18T04:00:00+00:00

The following morning Beattie was in the kitchen working on her laptop as Dave scuffed in, going straight for the coffee.

“How’d our girl do last night?” Beattie asked.

“Slept like a rock.” He poured himself a cup, added sugar, and stirred. “Me, not so much. I want it to be Friday so we all know what she’s got to deal with.”

“We both know how strong she is,” said Beattie. “Let’s try not to worry until we have something to worry about.”

Dave smiled. He looked at Beattie’s laptop and mimicked one of her Britishisms. “So what’ve you got on today?”

Beattie smiled. “Just checking my email. I suppose I could’ve been back at the office by now, but my sister’s health is more important. Besides, I think you could use my help for a little longer, too.”

“Thanks,” said Dave. “It’s great having you here.”

“My business—correction, the business—is in safe hands, anyway. After the company was sold I became chairman of the board, so I’ll still be hanging around for a few years in that role. They don’t need me for the day-to-day stuff anymore. But, dear God,” she said, scrolling through multiple screens of email, “they do like to keep me informed!”

“That sounds like a good problem to have.”

“I suppose so. I’d rather know what’s going on than not.”

“That’s one of the primary problems we need to work on at Cobalt,” said Dave. “People tend to hold information close to the vest. They use it like currency, as though making it scarce will drive up its value.”

“Oh, that’s not good,” said Beattie. “Communication is the lifeblood of an organization and central to the Hands domain—what you do as a collaborator. Without communication, you can’t implement your vision or purpose and your company can die. In fact, open communication is one of the key parts of the Hands domain.”

“Great—tell me about it,” said Dave as he pulled his notepad out of his briefcase.

“As a collaborative leader, you support people in their work—you remove roadblocks and help them win. You communicate openly by being a real-time coach: praising people’s progress when they’re living according to the purpose and values and achieving goals, and gently redirecting their efforts when they get off course. When people realize they’re in a safe and supportive environment, they feel they can also talk openly—candidly—and true collaboration happens.”

“Well, I did talk openly with Wayne yesterday. I was quite candid.”

Beattie’s eyebrows shot up. “And?”

“The bottom line is that he thinks Primo II will be another financial loser, and therefore he doesn’t want to have a thing to do with it.”

“He won’t work on the project at all?”

“Not unless he gets paid to work on it.”

“Actually, that’s terrific to know,” said Beattie without a trace of sarcasm.

Dave looked at her with disbelief. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. First, you’re to be commended for talking openly and getting down to the facts of what’s going on with Wayne. There’s an old saying: ‘The facts are friendly.’”

“Even bad news facts?”

“Yes, even bad news facts. The idea is that no matter how disagreeable the facts may be, they lead you closer to what’s really going on.

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