What makes the difference is collaborative leadership, an intentional and systemic way of building organisational environments where team members feel able to challenge, co-create, and take ownership of solutions. 

In an increasingly complex and interdependent world, organisations cannot thrive on hierarchical and siloed leadership models alone. Despite the good intentions and efforts by contemporary organisations to realign their structures to mitigate hierarchical models, many still grapple with the “siloed disorder”. Conventional network structure and leadership seem inadequate for navigating today’s rapidly changing context. Bureaucratic structures and leadership, in particular, struggle to keep pace with ongoing shifts in their surroundings because they prioritise control and stability over adaptability. The challenges of globalisation, technological disruption, demographic shifts, and rising stakeholder expectations demand a new approach to collaborative leadership. One that transcends traditional power dynamics by fostering shared purpose, mutual accountability, and collective problem-solving.

My research on collaborative leadership across diverse sectors highlights that while many leaders acknowledge the value of collaborative leadership, successful implementation remains elusive. Leaders often misinterpret collaboration as consensus-building or abdication of authority. However, Chrislip and Larson, in Collaborative Leadership: How Citizens and Civic Leaders Can Make a Difference, shared that collaborative leadership is a disciplined process of bringing diverse stakeholders together to create shared solutions that no single leader could achieve alone.

This is why leaders need to pause and reflect on three fundamental questions: Does our culture truly support collaborative leadership? Do our systems and processes enable it? Moreover, are we measuring its real impact? To move beyond rhetoric and realise the benefits of collaborative leadership, leaders must grapple with these three critical questions. These questions serve as both a diagnostic and a guide for embedding collaborative leadership meaningfully and sustainably. Let us dive into the questions. 

How aligned is our organisational culture with collaborative leadership values?

At the heart of collaborative leadership lies organisational culture, the shared beliefs, norms, and behaviours that shape how people interact. A leader may espouse to lead collaboratively, but if the culture rewards individual heroics, competition, or rigid hierarchy, collaborative leadership becomes performative. Heifetz’s theory of Adaptive Leadership emphasises that cultural alignment is crucial because collaborative engagements require shifts in values, loyalties, and ways of working. Adaptive work is impossible in environments where dissent is punished or where conformity trumps dialogue. Below are some practical considerations leaders could employ.  

First, it’s important to understand that for effective collaborative leadership, trust is the currency. Collaboration flourishes in environments where psychological safety exists. Do employees feel safe to express dissenting views without fear of retribution? Moreover, there has to be clarity of the shared purpose. Is there a compelling organisational purpose that unites diverse teams and stakeholders? Without shared purpose, collaboration risks devolving into endless engagements without tangible outcomes. Further, leaders need to address the issues of rewards. Do performance metrics and incentives value collective achievements as much as individual ones? Research consistently shows that incentive structures shape behaviour far more than organisations rallying slogans.

Leaders must initiate honest cultural audits through surveys, focus groups, and reflective dialogues to uncover the degree of alignment between espoused collaborative leadership values and actual behaviours. Where gaps exist, leaders should invest in culture change initiatives that reinforce trust, transparency, and shared accountability.

What structures and processes enable or hinder collaborative leadership?

Even when culture supports collaborative leadership, organisational structures and processes can make or break implementation. Many organisations remain trapped in hierarchical silos, with decision-making concentrated at the top. Without systemic enablers, collaboration becomes dependent on individual goodwill rather than institutional design. The OECD’s Principles on Open and Inclusive Governance highlight the importance of structured collaboration platforms, mechanisms, processes, and institutions that enable meaningful participation and shared decision-making. Some of the considerations leaders could adopt are highlighted below. 

There is a need to strengthen decision-making processes across the organisation’s layers. How distributed is decision-making authority? Collaborative leadership thrives when power is shared appropriately, not hoarded at the top. Additionally, information must flow effectively. Are communication channels open and transparent, or does information flow vertically, limiting cross-functional synergies? What platforms encourage collaboration in your organisation? Does the organisation have mechanisms, cross-functional teams, joint planning forums, and digital collaboration tools that support collective ideation and execution?

Leaders should map existing structures and workflows to identify bottlenecks to collaboration. Where decision-making is overly centralised, power can be intentionally redistributed through empowered teams or shared governance models. Moreover, processes should be re-engineered to encourage knowledge sharing and joint accountability for outcomes.

How do we measure the impact of collaborative leadership?

One of the reasons collaborative leadership fails to gain traction is the lack of clear metrics to demonstrate its value. Without evidence of tangible benefits, collaboration risks being dismissed as a “soft skill” rather than a strategic focus with impact on the bottom line in the organisation. The World Economic Forum, in its Future of Jobs Report, 2025, notes that collaboration is among the top skills for the future of work but stresses that organisations must link it to measurable productivity, innovation, and employee well-being.

Some key considerations based on my extensive research on collaborative leadership include clarity of understanding what needs to be measured, i.e. Key performance indicators (KPIs). Are there metrics that track the outcomes of collaborative leadership initiatives, such as innovation outputs, project success rates, or stakeholder satisfaction? Understanding and measuring collaborative leadership behavioural metrics. Beyond outcomes, how are collaborative behaviours being measured, such as cross-departmental partnerships, co-created solutions, or knowledge sharing? Finally, collaborative governance mechanisms are important. Is there a system for continuous feedback and learning to refine collaborative leadership practices over time?

Leaders must establish robust measurement frameworks that link collaborative leadership to business outcomes. This could involve tracking cross-functional project success, employee collaborative engagement scores, and customer experience improvements. Importantly, data should inform collaborative leadership, where leaders learn from both successes and failures in implementation.

Leadership is about stewardship, not ownership.

The successful implementation of collaborative leadership is not a single initiative but a fundamental shift in how power, responsibility, and decision-making are distributed in organisations. Leaders must see themselves not as owners of power, but as stewards of collective potential. By asking these three questions, about culture, structures, and impact, leaders move beyond enhancing employee engagement to embed collaborative leadership as a core organisational capability. The journey requires courage to disrupt entrenched hierarchies, humility to share power, and intentionality to measure and sustain progress. Ultimately, collaborative leadership is not a leadership style but a strategic necessity for organisations seeking to thrive in an interconnected, unpredictable world.

About the Author Dr. Gilbert A. Ang’ana is the Dean School of Leadership at Pan Africa Christian (PAC) University. He is a leadership and governance senior lecturer and practitioner, and author of several leadership books. His research focus is on collaborative leadership, good governance, and responsible leadership in an African context. Check out his publications at https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iCKGWqgAAAAJ&hl=en