Smart Collaboration

154SMART COLLABORATION

that in some organizational cultures—and even some national

cultures—there’s a reluctance to engage in this kind of storytelling.

Senior leaders worry, for example, that by recognizing one colleague,

they’ll appear to be showing favoritism. But the goal, long term, is to

help everyone develop their own stories. As a leader, you are simply

modeling a key behavior that you hope your colleagues will emulate.

Finally, you can offer some of the most powerful learning opportu-

nities when you offer direct exposure by going out into the field with

your partners. Often, senior leaders like to have top-to-top conver-

sations with clients, but if you exclude up-and-comers they’ll never

learn what it takes to have those conversations. ...