Leaders as Architects of Collaboration

Great collaboration doesn't happen. It's designed. So why do so many leadership teams still treat it as something that should just emerge naturally? In this episode of the PennCLO Podcast, The Practitioner Scholar, Dr. Sharon M. Ravitch speaks with PennCLO mentor and lecturer Dr. Phillip Ellis about designing organizations for collaboration, resilience, and adaptive leadership. Based on Phillip’s chapter in Leaders as Architects of Change: Designing Organizations for Connection and Resilience in Times of Uncertainty, this conversation explores why many teams struggle to collaborate in a world of uncertainty,and how leaders can create the conditions for deeper trust, innovation, and collective problem-solving. Together, they unpack: Why collaboration is a leadership design challenge How “systems of knowing” shape teams and organizations Why traditional leadership models struggle in uncertain environments How leaders can foster more adaptive and resilient cultures Leaders who treat collaboration as a soft skill keep getting stuck results. This conversation makes the case for designing it instead.