Collaborative leadership: What is it? And how do you get good at it?

By Dr Rhoda Stefanatos, Fellowships Development Manager

This blog post is part of an ongoing series exploring themes and practices relevant to our aspiring, developing and established Research Leaders.

What is collaborative leadership?

Collaborative leadership is simply the practice of leading in collaboration. What is less simple, are the practical realities of leading in collaboration. I know. A profound start. Stay with me.

Collaborative leadership is a shared and adaptive approach to leadership that enables individuals to work collectively (Raelin, 2016). Practised well it will support you to cultivate productive partnerships, convene diverse and complementary expertise, and steward collective efforts towards shared success.

Collaborative leadership is not:

• a leaderless utopia where no difficult decisions need to be made
• contingent on constant consensus and unlimited meetings
• a mechanism for distributing the ‘work’ or administrative burden of research
• a box ticking trend
• avoidance of challenge, disagreement or conflict
• easy
• always the best approach

The work of collaborative leadership is real and has a cost. Building relationships, creating shared understanding and navigating competing priorities requires time and effort.

In research, we have long had the idea of the lone genius. Our academic infrastructure has it baked in. We ask: Who is the principal investigator? Who is the budget holder? Who is the lead? Often, these practical and process questions, borne of administrative practicalities, focus on a few individuals, obscuring or erasing the collective nature of much of research leadership (Kay, 2026). For most of our careers as researchers, leadership is framed in the context of individual capability, achievement and success. Often, linked to our understanding of developing as independent researchers and research leaders, with shared success being perceived as secondary to individual milestones.

Putting aside discussions on how we reform our process and systems to make working together easier and more equitable, the ability to establish and maintain productive relationships and partnerships is often a skill researchers are expected to acquire through experience. But why?

Below, I set out why collaborative leadership is increasingly important for research leaders and the actions and behaviours that characterise it.

Why does it matter?

Collaborative leadership works. Research on Research tells us that that collaborative approaches increase innovation, impact and quality of research and research environments (Wuchty, 2007). Collaboration or teamwork does not automatically generate innovation, impact or high-quality research on its own, it depends on establishing and maintaining the conditions needed for effective working (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, 2025)

Collaborative leaders connect resources, knowledge, networks and research cultures. Research and its role in society is always shifting. The questions and challenges we want and need to explore are becoming increasingly complex. We are more aware and engaged than ever with the responsibility to ensure our research is accessed, has impact and value outwith our own epistemic communities and that our research environments are stimulating and developmental. These shifts require us to be intentional, ambitious and active in exploring intra, multi, cross, and inter, disciplinary and sector partners. 

Collaborative leadership is the new standard. Funder and institutional expectations have also shifted, the ability to lead effectively and collaboratively is becoming a core research leadership capability. At Glasgow, our new Research Strategy and Research Culture action plan recognise that “great research happens when people work together with trust and shared ambition”. This is set against an ongoing global reform of research assessment moving us toward increasing recognition of wider contributions and team approaches to research. The introduction of narrative and evidence-based CVs for individuals and teams gives research leaders and teams who operate in this way an opportunity to be recognised and valued.

How do I do it well?

You can probably think of a relationship, partnership or collaboration that created synergy, opportunity and impact. You can probably also identify an example where the invested time and effort brought limited returns. So how can you have more return on investment more of the time?  

For me, successful collaborative leadership is charactered by a set of core actions and behaviours. 

Collaborative Leaders invest in relationships. Relationships are a primary tool of leadership, by making time and opportunities to understand the people around you and build trust, you plant the seeds of collective success.  An invitation to reflect:

• Which relationships enable my leadership and research?
• When and how do I engage my peers/team/network?
• How well do I understand the aspirations, challenges and motivations of those I work with and lead?

Collaborative Leaders create shared understanding. Clarity is calm, communicating intentionally, making the implicit explicit and challenging assumptions allows those around you to stay aligned on priorities and responsibilities. An invitation to reflect:

• Do I create clarity around purpose, expectations and success?
• When was the last time I revisited shared goals with my team or collaborators?

Collaborative Leaders cultivate reciprocity. Irrespective of the set up or perceived hierarchy, sustainable and successful relationships are built on mutual respect and benefit.  An invitation to reflect:

• How do I ensure value for me and those I work with?
• How am I recognising the expertise and contributions of others?

Collaborative Leaders work with difference. Difference of perspective, background, experience and expertise is a learning opportunity, surfacing this productively supports collective development. An invitation to reflect:

• How do I respond when others challenge me?
• Am I curious to hear and understand different points of view?
• How do I deal with tensions or disagreements?

Collaborative Leaders adapt. Everything changes, remaining responsive and open to modifying your approach, learning from what goes well and what does not, keeps you and your leadership agile. An invitation to reflect:

• What has changed in my team, partnership or research environment over the last year? How have I adapted my leadership in response?
• What have recent successes or challenges taught me?

Collaborative leadership challenges us to think differently about success, influence and leadership, as emerging through relationships, trust and shared endeavour.

Maybe next time instead of asking, ‘Who will lead this?’ we ask, ‘How do we do this together?’.