Teamership : A competitive advantage
I was recently delivering a leadership development program with Geoff Martin, Professor of Strategy Geoff Martin at Melbourne Business School (always a valuable experience), who identified a number of things that will often be considered difficult to imitate (and hence a competitive advantage) through his research and experience.
Three of them were culture, brand and relationships.
For all of these three factors, Teamership makes a positive difference.
Teamership is at the core of great cultures. It is impossible for me to imagine a culture that members would consider to be a great one where the principles of Teamership don’t apply. If members aren’t able to bring their best or don’t create conditions where others can do the same, the culture isn’t a great one. Functional, perhaps, but not great.
While brand is typically seen as the external experience of an organisation (as opposed to culture, which is the internal experience), there is rationale to link the two. In fact, in a 2010 Harvard Business Review article, Bill Taylor gives away the punchline in the title:
Brand Is Culture, Culture Is Brand
He states that “you can’t be special, distinctive, and compelling in the marketplace unless you create something special, distinctive, and compelling in the workplace.”
Teamership creates special and compelling workplaces.
Teamership relies on relationships. Without relationships, we are unlikely to bring our best or encourage others to do the same. We need to care about those that we work with. An inherent aspect of Teamership is establishing, maintaining and strengthening relationships - with colleagues, with supply chain partners and with customers.
Teamership elevates culture, brand and relationships. These shape an organisation’s competitive advantage.
Some questions for you to consider this week:
Can you imagine a great culture in which members don’t demonstrate the values of bringing their best and bringing out the best in others?
How does your organisation’s brand reflect its culture?
What steps do you take to establish, maintain and strengthen great working relationships?
What is your personal competitive advantage that is difficult to imitate?