“The skill that is the most needed by industry is the worst taught in universities”
When I spoke to Jim Timm, the author of Radical Collaboration, in early November, we still didn’t know that Donald Trump would be elected President just two days later. In the second part of our interview (find part one here), Jim takes a critical look at the curriculum of business schools across the world, gives examples of collaboration in the highly contested field of U.S. politics, and throws in some valuable tips as to what corporate leaders can do to foster collaboration in their organizations.
Arne: Jim, you run a lot of workshops, both in-house and open events to which people sign up individually. What do participants usually point out as their biggest pain points in their careers and work environments, and how can Radical Collaboration help with that?
Jim: The biggest problem I hear about among leaders is poor relationships. There was a study done at theCenter for Creative Leadership where they were looking at “executive derailment”. They studied managers and leaders who were seen as rising stars in their organizations. “Derailed” means that they were forced to retire early, they were outright fired, or they plateaued at a level that was lower than everybody thought they would reach. The number one reason for their derailment was poor relationships. This showed up in a lot of different ways: they were arrogant, they weren’t problem-solvers, they wouldn’t share credit, they were bad at communications. When leaders get into trouble, it’s almost always about relationships. It’s usually not because they lack technical skills, it’s because they can’t make the people work. That’s the biggest pain point I hear from leaders. From people farther down in the organization, I guess it’s that the organization does not support their efforts, doesn’t listen, wants them to just carry out the things they are supposed to do, and doesn’t give them the tools, training and resources for them to be effective in their jobs.
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