Many managers are wondering about the new management models to be put in place. This is how the practice of collaborative management, first developed in North America, is tending to spread to other countries.

Collaborative management, also called collaborative leadership, is becoming more and more successful and has allowed the emergence of new practices such as brainstorming or think tanks. But what is collaborative management and how do you practice it?

What is collaborative management?

Collaborative management is based on people. It is based on the idea of deconstructing hierarchy to create a dynamic of solidarity, without the traditional corporate tree structure.

This makes it possible to engage and unite all employees around the business project. It is therefore a new managerial method that makes employees a collective of free and committed individuals. This promotes decision-making, freedom of expression but also the independence of the employee.

Collaborative management is part of a concern for well-being and sharing. In this pattern, employees are more fulfilled and company performance increases. Investment is a desire and not a constraint.

The objective? Work together to increase business performance and revenue.

The benefits provided by collaborative management are not negligible:

• Human benefits: the well-being of employees is respected, they are fulfilled. But they are also directly involved in the projects and the operation of the company.
• Performance improvement: a happy, mobilized and involved employee will necessarily be more efficient than the opposite. Collaboration also makes it possible to increase performance because intelligence is then disseminated and shared between employees.
• Simplifying processes: one of the objectives of collaborative management is to limit intermediaries and validation processes.

How to practice collaborative management?

Collaborative management must be implemented carefully. This system changes the way a company operates and it is essential for managers to ensure that employees have fully understood this new organization.

So the first step is the communication. And this is done by the managers who will make the transition between the classical system and collaborative management. The change must be accepted and understood by all.

Then, the manager will motivate his teams and make sure to highlight participation, exchange, sharing and commitment. The challenge for managers is to move from decision-maker to collaborator.

The manager then has a role of support for the employee. In this system, members of different departments can therefore collaborate and be actors in the project in which they decide to invest.

Collaborative management is based on 4 pillars:

• Confidence
• The choice: the freedom of the employee in his commitment to the company, his flexibility.
• Cooperation: working as a team, moving forward together
• Conviviality

These values are essential for effective collaborative management.

What are the 4 management styles?

- Directive management : its main mission is to structure working relationships. It limits initiatives, plans, organizes top-down communication, gives instructions. Employees are therefore not autonomous and decision-making is unilateral.

- Persuasive management : this management mode is based on organization and relationships. It influences more than imposes, communication is very present, it is in the exchange and valorization of employees, it encourages

- Participatory management : this management method is relational, it develops everyone's participation and favors joint decision-making

- Delegative management : in this management mode, the manager empowers, delegates and evaluates, the responsibility is shared, the manager indicates the missions then lets the employees set up their own actions, he accepts suggestions and initiatives

It is necessary to adapt your management according to your structure but also and especially to your team. Indeed, a team that is not autonomous will not thrive in delegative management for example.

Implement collaborative management with coaching

Setting up a collaborative management system can be difficult and requires doing things right, step by step.

To structure its organization and make every effort to best install this new system, the support of a coach can be very useful.

In addition, certain approaches, such as transformational leadership, can help unite teams around a common vision and stimulate their commitment. To learn more about this method, discover our comprehensive guide to transformational leadership.

Indeed, any upheaval in a company requires a reorganization and a reassessment of the actions to be carried out.

In a situation like this, the professional coach can help the manager to accept and move forward with change, if necessary, at first.

Then, it can support employees and managers through change. This is thanks in particular to methodologies and tools that allow it to plan this change.

The coach and his client will then develop an action plan to implement collaborative management.

When a company decides to abandon its traditional hierarchy system to implement collaborative management, it is sometimes essential to review certain points that may be blocking.

With team coaching the coach accompanies his clients in important missions such as:

• Learn to manage your team
• Integrate new methods of managing, new ways of working
• Strengthen teams
• Work on joint decision-making and communication
• Get the commitment of your team.

VISCONTI offers a support for managers but also for its teams and this may be to set up collaborative management. Coaching is then adapted to teams.

Collaborative management is a system that promotes the values of commitment, sharing, performance and valorization. In recent years, well-being at work has been a growing concern for companies. And this management system is perfectly in line with this line.