What Makes a Leader – Collaboration

Welcome to the fifth day of #AgriLeadershipWeek2024, in which we will look to collaborate with you to enhance the way you work. There are many benefits when it comes to collaboration. It ‘allows us to know more than we are capable of knowing by ourselves’, according to Paul Solarz. In essence, we can’t do it all alone, and nor should we. Being a leader often means knowing what to do and when to do it, and sometimes that means delegating a task, letting specifically skilled people focus on what they’re best at, or, knowing when more than one voice and way of working is needed to proceed. 

Think of a brainstorm where the ideas were fully flowing. You often find more inspiration in a group brainstorm than an individual one, right? And that is because collaboration is often the key to creativity.  

Problem-solving is another time when collaboration is pivotal. This is where everyone’s views, experiences, and ideas come into play, and allow the group to explore the best way forward.  

Narrow-mindedness and individualism are often the polar opposite of collaboration, and although there are some things we must do alone, there are many tasks and projects that would greatly benefit from the free-flowing nature of group collaboration. 

Find an opportunity in the workplace where you can implement collaboration. Your team might just wonder why the sudden change, but we can almost guarantee it will be enjoyable and bear more fruit than having everyone working in solidarity constantly. 

MDS has partnered with TIAH and others to bring Agri Leadership Week to fruition.