‘The future will belong not to the most successfully competitive, but to the most creatively collaborative. Leaders can build great collaboration among their staff by focusing on one core belief and one fundamental skill. The belief: I must be as equally committed to the success of my colleagues as I am to my own success. The skill: I must be able to discover the needs and interests of others and connect my own to theirs…

‘We tend to consider collaboration when we are in need. But great organizations are full of people who look for ways to collaborate all the time. They do this because they know that excellence is held back by internal competition and turfism. They seek to move beyond a self-preserving posture, to one that genuinely engages with others to understand their challenges and consider collaborative strategies that will help others meet their challenges….

‘We think we know others’ needs or interests when, in fact, we may only know their “position”—their stated goals or their opinions. Their needs and interests are usually unspoken. Skill in asking powerful questions and listening deeply for the answers are the keys to uncovering this critical data. ‘