Nearly 80% of employees do not feel engaged at work – or are even «actively disengaged» – according to the 2023 edition of the Gallup survey. State of the Global Workplace. In fact, in a context that is further aggravated by multiple crises, employee disengagement represents a major challenge for companies today.
Unsurprisingly, engaging the teams largely depends on management, especially in its human dimension. The participatory management (or collaborative) is part of this dynamic by relying on collective intelligence and granting more autonomy and decision-making power to employees.
How can participatory management improve individual effectiveness and collective performance? What are its principles, advantages and tools to enable employees to take an active and motivated part in the success of the company?
What is participatory or collaborative management?
As its name suggests, participatory management – or collaborative management – encourages managers to involving employees in achieving the team and company objectives, in decision-making, and in continuous improvement.
Participatory management relies on collective intelligence to create a powerful lever of involvement, motivation and innovation in the service of efficiency and competitiveness within the team.
Increasingly practiced today – in place of the direct and persuasive management styles – thanks to the evolution of work methods and management culture, the main objective of participatory management is to To unite the employees and inspire their commitment in order to collectively achieve a common goal.
The Collaborative management therefore implies that develop long-term relationships between managers and employees and establish constructive trust and dialogue to carry out projects together in good harmony... collectively!
The 5 principles of participatory management for collective intelligence
Participatory management is based on 5 major principles what the manager can implement to inspire motivation and collaboration among employees:
- Engage and unite the teams around a clear vision and a common goal, So that everyone feels they are an active participant in achieving the objectives.
- Holding employees accountable by delegating and encouraging collaboration, team cohesion and collective intelligence.
- Make employees autonomous especially in solving problems or conflicts, and only intervening if the situation is stuck.
- Encourage innovation, initiative-taking, and the right to trial and error to promote continuous improvement and the success of projects.
- Developing individual and collective skills by placing particular emphasis on the « soft skills » useful in a team, such as agility, listening, communication and feedback.
Participatory management for performance and well-being in the workplace
For managers as well as for employees, collaborative management allows each person to flourish and to enhance their work by complementing each other.
The benefits of collaborative management for teams
The implementation of participatory management first impacts The employee experience, Because it allows to:
- promoting well-being and quality of life at work (QVT) by strengthening the sense of being heard, valued and recognized by employees,
- strengthening a sense of belonging and self-confidence therefore taking initiatives and innovation,
- develop the motivation and involvement of everyone in the service of a better team atmosphere to reduce tensions and absenteeism (or even the absence of employees). turn-over),
- improve creativity and team performance by relying on collective intelligence: according to the Gallup study cited in the introduction, participatory management would increase productivity by 20%!
According to the analyses of the American psychologist and expert Rensis Likert and numerous corroborating studies, among the 4 major types of management (directive, persuasive, participatory, and delegative), The latter two, more collaborative and horizontal, allow for the best efficiency at work in connection with the degree of autonomy of the employees.
The benefits of collaborative management for managers
Besides more committed and innovative teams – a great success in itself! –, managers can also rely on collaborative management to:
- Developing their own role manager leader serving the team by sharing the company’s vision, giving the impetus and inspiring motivation and commitment; a study by Oresys already revealed in 2017 that in 79% of the most successful companies, executives considered their manager to be a « leader, inspiring, benevolent, who takes their point of view into account and supports them ».
- Enrich their Managerial vision and optimize their decisions by balancing the interests of both parties, thanks to the feedback from employees on the ground.
The toolkit for participatory management
Managers who wish to successfully implement participatory management have a wide range of methods and tools at their disposal, often derived from the Management 3.0 (concept developed by Jurgen Appelo), usable on a case-by-case basis according to the context of the company and the needs of the organization.
Tools to frame and organize delegation
- The framework of collaboration It allows for the establishment of the essential rules between the manager and the employees, since participatory management is built on exchange;
- Tools such as the skills matrix or the card game Moving Motivators They allow for delegation and accountability by activating the Motivational levers from each one (success, interactions, power…) to engage each collaborator appropriately;
- Tools like the card game Delegation Poker enable the team to agree on modalities of delegation the most suitable for each recurring decision.
Tools for sharing and communicating
- Beyond the idea box, the methods of brainstorming as the brainwriting or Bono’s hats allow you to feed the collective creativity (not to mention the indispensable Post-it®) ;
- The tools of visual management methods such as Kanban allow information to be shared more quickly and made more transparent;
- The Corporate Social Network (CSR) and others Digital sharing platforms They are useful provided that everyone is trained to use them and that the methodological framework is well defined;
- Various Communication techniques (active listening, reformulation…) and Methods of feedback (OSCAR, DESC…) allow each person to express their opinion and their perception of the facts (cognitive biases);
- More specifically, the steps to highlight what facilitates or hinders the relationship, such as Nonviolent Communication (CNV), allow for the development of a climate of trust and cooperation among employees and the resolution of conflicts.
In the face of employee disengagement, participatory management offers a response tailored to the needs of autonomy and decision-making power of experienced teams, relying on the experience of the teams themselves.Collective intelligence. However, in order for this collaborative mode to be fully effective, it is necessary to establish a support mechanism for both managers and employees, in order to establish the culture, mindset and new reflexes essential to the success of your transformation.
