When educators talk about collaboration, they mean shared decision making among colleagues and a sense of synergy when they talk about common goals, problem solving, and teamwork. Administrators often actually approach the process of collaboration with staff members as though they are cautiously dealing with an enemy force that is squatting on their turf. They negotiate terms and haggle through faculty meetings and planning sessions as if they are in a high-stakes card game with cards that are not being shown. In fact, collaboration is a great example of how education has adopted both the good and the bad from so-called proven business practices. Educators have learned to organize and establish criteria, but they have also adopted a subtle practice of mistrusting those they work with. In this article, the author shares his personal experience working with staff members in creating a collaborative leadership and the simple rules for creating a collaborative building culture. These simple rules are the following: know where you are going; empower the staff and use their collective wisdom; trust; and persevere.