Below is a lesson from Forbes on shifting from traditional leadership to "teamship" to drive extraordinary success and innovation, as well as our key learnings.

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How Good Leaders Become Great By Never Leading Alone

Keith Ferrazzi

David Brancaccio, host of Marketplace Morning Report, the long-running public radio show, is a master of the art of sharp questions—and he aimed one in my direction he interviewed me this week about the difference between good leaders and great teams. “I think many people listening will be scarred by some of their previous experience with dysfunctional teams,” David said. “I mean, everybody wants agile teams, but how do you keep a team accountable? Right? If it’s a group effort, there’s sometimes a tendency for no one to take actual responsibility.”

It’s the right question to ask, and it's one I often hear.

From Looking Up to Looking Across

The problem is we spend too much time looking upward at our leaders. We need to spend more time looking at each other and how we work together. That's the principal idea in my new book, Never Lead Alone, between moving from a perspective of leadership to a perspective of teamship. A good leader gives feedback, but a great team gives each other feedback. A good leader holds the team accountable, but a great team holds each other accountable. We've got to give the team a real roadmap on how to collaborate effectively and really build transformational outcomes in the world that we're in today.

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Key Learnings:

• From Leadership to Teamship:
  Shifting focus from traditional leadership to "teamship": Great teams hold each other accountable, provide feedback collaboratively, and operate with a shared roadmap for success.

• The New Social Contract in Teams:
  High-performing teams redefine their dynamics with a new social contract based on mutual commitment and co-elevation. Unlike mediocre teams, they prioritize each other’s success and encourage open feedback, even if it challenges peers.

• Conflict Avoidance vs. Candor:
  Research reveals that teams struggle with conflict avoidance, the average team scoring only 2.4 out of 5 in their ability to "speak truth." Practices like "candor breaks"—where meetings pause to ask, "What's not being said that should be said?"—help create a culture of honesty and participation.

• The Role of Modern Collaboration Tools:
  Tools like shared documents and virtual breakout rooms enhance inclusion, enabling diverse perspectives and creating psychological safety for all team members.

• Embracing Change in Volatile Times:
  In the face of technological and societal changes, traditional top-down leadership is inadequate. Companies like IBM, Comcast, Automattic, and Salesforce demonstrate how adopting teamship principles leads to breakthrough results.

• The Big Takeaway:
  Teams that embrace the right social contract and modern practices achieve extraordinary outcomes, as exemplified by successful organizations implementing these principles.