The Power of Co-Elevation

In a transformation, it is key to create high-performing teams that cut across reporting line structures. In this context, I very much like Keith Ferrazzi’s recent book ‘Leading Without Authority’. Keith is a real thought leader.

The core concept is to unlock the cooperative power when people commit and practice co-elevating relationships with each other in the team, next to achieving their combined mission/project, thereby bringing the best out of each other. The book is full of great insights and tools, for each of the steps of creating a co-elevating team. Here are some highlights:

1. Define a cause (mission/project) worth fighting for in your organisation to create value beyond your direct responsibility/team, where you need others to realise it.
   
   
2. Define 5-10 people in and outside your organization which you would need to work with without formal authority to achieve your value-creating mission/project.
   
   
3. Assess your current level of co-elevation relationship state with each, ranging from -2 Resentment, -1 Resist, 0 Coexist, +1 Collaboration, +2 Co-Elevation.
   
   
4. Also invest actively in relationships with the ones you were for past reasons in a negative state with, by jumping over your own shadow/fears, going first, focusing on sincerely sharing, serving, caring about them, being vulnerable, authentic, and asking for advice.
   
   
5. Once relationships are in a positive state, you can ask them to become part of the project/mission, and ideally link it to their personal/professional mission and ‘blue flame’ (that’s their real passion).
   
   
6. Once the team is in place, re-contract the team’s expectation of the way of working together at a co-elevating level relationship, by sharing, serving and caring for each other.
   
   
7. Create even deeper and more collaborative partnerships together. Transformative outcomes = Radical Inclusion + Bold Input + Agility. Unlock powerful ideas by embracing the wider team’s views. Solicit candid and courageous feedback. Use agile short iterative steps and frequent interactions. Make candour compulsory, and rate the level of candour from 1-5 in the room.
   
   
8. Unlock the mutual coaching potential in the team. Provide candid feedback in the spirit of generosity and goodwill. Feedback is a gift. Once given, it’s theirs. Candour is caring. Depend less on performance reviews, training, coaching from your superior, and more on your team for professional development.
   
   
9. Praise and celebrate a lot. Paise is highly valued. Acknowledge big and small accomplishments of each other all the time. Celebrate the momentum of winning, but also celebrate failures if you collectively have learned from them. What we celebrate is what we receive.

How is your co-elevating team score from -2 to +2?