We’ve Cultured Great Leaders. Now, How Do We Get Them to Work Together?
With all the news we hear about leaders in our country and beyond, it might be easy to think we’re at a low point in our society. The truth is, we have some of the greatest leaders of any time in history right here, today. The problem is that we need our great leaders to work together to achieve amazing things for the world. How do we do that?
1. Set Egos Aside
Many great leaders look out for the best interests of our world, but some come at the situation with an ego. They feel like they have the best ideas and that no one else could be as smart as them. Unfortunately, this can lead to a lot of clashing among leaders who are not interested in working together. By setting aside ego, everyone can look at the situation in the best interest of humanity rather than who will get the credit.
2. Start with a Joint Problem
Some leaders might be looking at global warming. Others might be studying equality, while another set of leaders is trying to remedy food scarcity. People in the world deal with many issues, and the only way to get these leaders to really work together is to find one issue they’re willing to focus on first and then grow from there. A focus group can talk to each leader about their top three, five, or even 10 concerns so they can find a topic that most agree is a high-level issue.
3. Leave the Route Open to Interpretation
We want our great leaders to develop ideas independently because the ideas we already have are not working. That means we don’t need to push leaders onto a specific path.
Instead, we need to leave leaders free to approach the issue with their own levels of creativity and their own knowledge base. Task ambiguity is one of the hallmarks of success when it comes to leaders working together. Giving a goal while leaving the route up to the team is an excellent way of getting results.
4. Take Some Action
It can be discouraging when leaders talk about changes and improvements day after day without delivering results. Instead of waiting until the very end of a collaboration event to take action, leaders could take small steps immediately.
What small things could they communicate to the general public to start making an impact immediately? Communication helps the general public feel more involved and allows leaders to see that working together is, in fact, making a difference. This makes them even more likely to continue their collaboration and build on the ideas and plans that they create.
5. Encourage Our Best Leaders to Seize Opportunities
The world is filled with intelligent and extraordinary people. Often, those people don’t have the opportunity to meet or do not take the time to sit down and discuss what they could do about some of the most significant issues facing our world.
If they did, however, they could make a drastic difference. Whether it’s poverty, healthcare, refugees, or any other issue, bringing together the best and brightest minds could help us create the world we all want to live in. All it takes is the right situation and the right people willing to put aside their differences to achieve something extraordinary.
