Chapter 5
Building Partnerships^[1]

The hierarchical model of leadership, once so prevalent in organizations around the world, is being replaced with a new kind of leadership that relies on partnerships^[2] and persuasion through the power and value of ideas. Global leaders will use influence rather than command and control management as their operating style. They will let go of the hierarchy while not abdicating leadership, and they will extend their spheres of influence outside the organization to other companies, industries, and countries that are predicated on financial models that underscore the accountability of the partnership.

Business boundaries are becoming looser, and communities are converging across organizations, regions, and industries. Electronic commerce transcends time, geography, and culture. As alliances, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions continue to increase and industries restructure, new communities of business will be formed. Worldbid.com, which facilitates 24-hour access to local, national, and international markets, is an example of a growing community of business networks that serve to link trade sectors around the globe.

Within this increasingly interconnected global environment, the ideal leader of the future will be a person skilled at building partnerships inside and outside the organization. There is probably no better illustration of what it means to build a global partnership than that of the relationship between Presidents Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, which, in the 1980s, after four decades of discourse, ended the Cold War between the United States and Russia. In the 40 years that this war was waged, these two great blocks of power formed two extensive military operations: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) created by western powers in 1949 and the Soviet-dominated Warsaw Pact established in 1955. After a series of summit talks between the two super-power leaders, which began in 1985, the two leaders agreed to eliminate much of their countries' nuclear missiles, and by 1987, the arms race to accumulate advanced military weapons was ended.

Creating Trust

To begin building partnerships, global leaders must first establish trust with coworkers and employees. To do so, the leader should treat coworkers as partners, not competitors, by sharing knowledge openly and honestly, and establishing an enduring relationship of trust. Without trust, relationships are based on competition, which eliminates the possibilities for collaboration of ideas and resources between people. With trust, leaders can work together toward a common purpose.

Trust takes time to build. Yet in today's turbulent business environment, time is a luxury. Global leaders are forced to gain and give trust quickly, or they will lose opportunities. For instance, prior to this past decade many leaders functioned in departmental silos within their organization. Often to the detriment of the company, leaders hoarded their most talented employees, and as a result, these individuals weren't promoted and the company's growth was compromised. Especially in less siloed organizations, leaders are beginning to understand that sharing resources leads to the maximum benefit for all.

It helps to set up forums that allow for a natural sharing of knowledge, ideas, and talents. Recently, at a Leadership Dialogue Series held by the co-authors, one CEO revealed how his organization is promoting the crosspollination of knowledge. Each quarter, the senior executive team convenes and lists the top ten talents that they have in each of their functional areas. They look across the organization to see where else the talent might be leveraged. Through these forums, the team has built the trust and confidence in each other that makes them capable of sharing and helping in other areas in the company. This is not something that leaders do naturally. The inclination is to hoard talent, because leaders don't trust that talent will be leveraged properly in other areas of the organization. In this CEO's organization, they share talent, because the forum has been set up to allow the sharing to happen naturally.

To build trust, these leaders respect the confidences of others. They share their own intentions, and they act quickly, yet they are cautious, choosing wisely what information to share and with whom. In most interactions, they will lean toward trust and open communication, because they know that people who are informed can contribute more to the organization. For instance, prior to the merger of two large pharmaceutical companies, senior executives participated in a Leadership Dialogue Series process in which each executive listed the top ten talents of each of their functional areas and then decided where the talent should be shared during the merger. The results were very positive. Not only was the merger more effective, but more people participated in the merger. The talent sharing enabled the crosspollination between the three participating eastern states, smoothing out the transition across the organization.

Keeping It Positive

Successful global leaders create an atmosphere that encourages innovation and open communication. They welcome constructive feedback and dialogue. Although it's easy to become cynical about one's company and coworkers, effective global leaders realize that destructive comments about other people and groups undermine trust in partnerships, and thus they discourage destructive comments.

They have good conflict resolution. They stay cool. They help people manage conflict. They don't take sides. They get people to communicate and work toward a constructive end. They can referee.^[3]

The global leaders of the future are role models for avoiding unnecessary, negative comments about their coworkers, the organization within which they work, and other organizations. These leaders realize that bashing others is a bad habit that gives people a poor impression of them and the company, and that it creates an atmosphere of cynicism and apathy that undermines any possibility of change. Effective global leaders provide recognition and support for people who have the courage to tell the hard truth before issues become disasters.

One success story has to do with our collaboration with another company on the marketing of a drug. In order to take this drug and make it better, each of our companies had to respect and understand the level of control each party wanted. We needed to know the expertise that each organization could contribute. Also, we had to know what each party wanted and we had to have mutual respect and communication. We had to see the big picture.
An example of a failure is the three aborted attempts to merge two large pharmaceutical companies. These collaborations failed because of interpersonal disputes on the senior level. There were personality differences with the leaders. These leaders could not get along with each other due to history, ego, ambition, et cetera. They could not see the greater, common good—the "big picture,"^[4]

Forging Partnerships and Alliances across the Company

Building partnerships and alliances is more important not only in relationships within departments of the organization; it has become more important for relationships across the organization. As the work environment has become more complex, it has become necessary to coordinate activities with crossfunctional teams and not just rely on the traditional hierarchy.

...We had a start-up company with the job of purchasing pieces of jets. They started with five people and have grown to over 400 with a total turnover of approximately 450 million dollars. Many departments, such as sales, marketing, and production, pitched in to get this complicated business to work successfully. An example of a failure is what is happening at another center.... The main reason why these operations failed is because we were not collaborative.^[5]

Partnering with Direct Reports

The traditional assumptions that have "bonded" employees with organizations are changing rapidly. For instance, layoffs, downsizing, and restructuring have created an environment in which employees no longer expect that their organizations will provide them with lifetime job security. As a result of this diminishing expectation, workers' "blind" loyalty to the companies that employ them has decreased.

Today, almost all high-potential leaders see themselves as "free agents," not as "employees" (in the traditional sense).^[6] They see the leader of the future as a person who can build "win-win" relationships and who is sensitive to their needs for personal growth and development. In return, they feel not only a desire but also a responsibility to deliver value back to the leader and to the organization. In simple terms, they see the leader of the future as their partner, not their boss!

As Peter Drucker has expressed, one of the great challenges for leadership in the future will be the management of knowledge workers. Knowledge workers are people who know more about what they are doing than their manager knows.^[7] The managers of knowledge workers of the future will have to be good partners. They won't have a choice! If they are not great partners, they won't have great people.

Partnering with Coworkers

One of the great challenges for the leader of the future is breaking down traditional boundaries that limit mobility, ideas, and growth, such as longstanding, ingrained hierarchical perimeters that prevent employees and executives from communicating openly and honestly, and the borders that competition has instilled that keep company departments from collaborating.

The successful leader of the future will share people, capital, and ideas across the organization. People need to be shared so that they can develop the expertise and breadth needed to manage the entire organization. Capital needs to be shared so that mature businesses can transfer funds to high-growth businesses. Ideas need to be shared so that everyone in the organization can learn from both successes and mistakes in the most efficient way possible. As the world becomes more complex, this type of integration becomes more important and has great benefits for the CEO and the organization.^[8] The CEO is rewarded by the success of the entire organization, not just the success of any one unit.

While these advantages are easy to see from the vantage point of the CEO, they can be more difficult to execute from the position of the lower-level manager. At Anthem East, President Marjorie Dorr recognized this challenge and initiated a campaign in which associates could present ideas focused on high-growth business opportunities to the Anthem East Leadership Team (the senior executive team). In this way, Marjorie was helping the organization capture business-external opportunities. If the idea won its budget from the executive team, it was implemented by a team of associates. If the idea did not win its budget, it was still a great learning experience for the associate, who would learn from the process of putting together the idea and the budget, and by presenting the plan to the leadership team. It also put younger executives and high-potentials in front of the leadership team. Thus it was a win-win for the individual, regardless of whether or not the idea was integrated into the organization.

Leaders at all levels have to learn to share people, capital, and ideas. In some cases they must choose to experience a short-term loss so that the organization can achieve a long-term gain. In the past, many leaders were taught to compete with colleagues for people, resources, and ideas. They have been rewarded for "winning" this competition. In the future, leaders must learn to collaborate with colleagues across the organization. The success of the larger organization will depend upon the leaders' abilities to become great partners with their coworkers. In many cases the participants in our research believed that developing partnerships with coworkers was an even bigger challenge for leaders than developing partnerships with direct reports.

Partnering with Managers

Other than the CEO, every leader in the organization has a manager. The changing role of leadership will mean that the relationship between managers and direct reports will have to change in both directions. Not only will managers need to change, direct reports (who also may be leaders) will need to change. Many leaders of the future will be operating more like the managing director of an office in a consulting firm than the operator of an independent small business. This is true not only in the business sector, but also in the human services sector. The new leader of the United Way, Brian Gallagher, recently described the ideal future leaders of this organization as partners leading in a network, not managers leading in a hierarchy.^[9]

A consulting firm that could be a benchmark in partnering between junior and senior people is McKinsey and Company. At McKinsey, a director may often have less detailed knowledge about a client than does a more junior principal. Leaders at all levels are trained to do what is in the best interest of their clients. If they are given a directive that they believe is not in the best interest of their clients, they are taught that they are obligated to challenge it. This philosophy at McKinsey teaches leaders at all levels to have very adult and responsible relationships with their managers.

While partnering with management can be a lot more complex than "taking orders," it is becoming a requirement, not an option. When direct reports know more than their managers, they have to learn how to influence "up" as well as "down" and "across."

Building Teams

Companies that seek a competitive advantage through their people must develop relationships between leaders, managers, and employees that encourage a feeling of partnership. At a leadership program for generating teamwork, one leader creatively initiated these relationships and defined team roles by giving out symbolic salt and pepper shakers and tiny flashlights at the meeting. The salt and pepper shakers symbolized each individual's need to spice up and add flavor to the team; the flashlights symbolized that each leader would be the guiding light for his or her team. Holding the teamwork program and accentuating it by giving out these gadgets showed team members that while the president was serious about what the teams needed to do to crosspollinate with each other and work with the leaders, she wanted it to be a fun learning experience. The result was great: The president had the highest rating of employee satisfaction the company had seen in years.

Skilled people want to have a say in how their jobs are structured, how the company is doing, and what it is planning for the future. They often respond well to team-based and influence-based leadership. However, the hierarchical and bureaucratic structures of many companies can make this quite difficult on site. Predicated on a merger, the president of Anthem East, Marjorie Dorr, took her entire leadership team on a leadership journey to the swamplands in Florida to move her team to the next level of leadership. For three days, the team spent their days canoeing through the swamps. They had meager food, no place to sleep, no bathrooms, and just the clothes on their backs. At night when they pulled into camp, they built their shelter. Marjorie's goal for this adventure was to make the team understand that they need each other to survive. Although some of the team had not wanted to make the trip, they pulled together. They came back reinvigorated, and they now knew they could rely on each other even in the direst of circumstances. After the trip, the operational bottom line improved significantly, and each leader responded well to team-based and influence-based leadership. It wasn't just titles that were important to them anymore. Participating in the outing changed how the individuals respected each other and how they behaved with each other.

As companies look for more innovative ways to grow, they are going to be entering into more unique relationships with their colleagues and other companies through alliances and partnerships. Therefore, the idea of team building is still going to be around for a while. Leaders need to be able to get the most out of groups of people in order to get things done as well as be able to make sure that each individual person feels valued. This is true teamwork.^[10]

Effective global leaders encourage two-way flows of information and feedback, leading to wider ownership of projects and ideas, more participatory management, and more consensual decision making. In most traditional, hierarchical organizations, this type of system is not set up. For instance, before the Leadership Dialogue Series, executives at Anthem didn't share resources, nor did leaders participate in management from a crossfunctional perspective. During the series, leaders gathered for one evening a month to talk about the challenges and decisions they faced that needed the participation of other managers in the room. The participants arrived with their challenges prioritized, all issues were then put on a flip chart and prioritized by impact on the ROI. After a discussion, each manager voted on the issues. In this way, decisions were made more quickly by the entire team. Because the company had been set up for individual problem solving, this was an entirely new process—and it worked well. The leadership meetings are now a natural part of the leadership team's decision-making practice.

Often, to kick-start a participative, crossfunctional meeting structure, leaders must put into place an artificial infrastructure, such as a leadership team or titular head that meets on a regular basis. With time, the new practice becomes a natural part of the company's infrastructure. For instance, at a large healthcare organization, a leadership team effort across the functional groups for enrollment, marketing, e-commerce, IT, and strategy was put in place. The heads of each group met weekly to plan the budget for the coming fiscal year. Over time and with great success, this crossfunctional status meeting has become a regular part of the ongoing planning process for the company.

In addition to planning the budget, the leaders from the different areas of this large healthcare organization have put together a dependency matrix of projects, roles, and responsibilities for each leader. This matrix is the basis upon which they delegate authority and responsibility to strong internal teams with complementary skills and upon which is based an impact chart of individuals, teams, and functional groups that, although not participating, are impacted by projects and/or changes in the leader's area. The leaders create a liaison relationship with these impacted groups, who become project participants either by completing the impact matrix survey or by attending future meetings in which the issue is discussed. These groups are responsible for participating, which negates finger pointing and blaming on the basis of not being informed and not being part of the decision process.

In my previous job, I was the general manager for four years. At first, the department heads were very competitive with each other. But over the four years, we began to collaborate more and work together with a team approach. We shared accountability and set the example of working as a team—not individual initiative. The results of this teamwork were more profitability, customer satisfaction, employee retention, and quality service.^[11]

Creating Networks Outside the Organization

Building partnerships and alliances of all kinds will be far more important in the future than it was in the past. Many organizations that seldom formed alliances in the past are regularly forming alliances today.

The airline industry is an example of a networking success. Major competitors had to collaborate in designing software and hardware. They needed to form a joint venture.^[12]

This trend of forging long-lasting external alliances and partnerships based on mutual trust, respect, and interests will be even more dramatic in the future.

The changing role of customers, suppliers, and partners has dramatic implications for future global leaders. In the past it was clear who "friends" (customers and partners) and who "enemies" (competitors) were. In the future these roles will become more blurred.

I believe the business stream will exist less of one huge company with a few affiliates, and there will be more companies with many affiliates. Affiliations will be less formal, and the organizations will be flatter with a tremendous amount of structural flexibility. These affiliated organizations will have to work together to anticipate and proactively implement changes as assumptions are reevaluated.^[13]

In fields as diverse as energy, telecommunications, and pharmaceuticals, the same organization may be a customer, supplier, partner, or competitor. Informal strategy includes building a network of unplanned and unstructured communication between leaders in different parts of the world.

In this "new world" the ability to build positive, long-term, win-win relationships with many organizations becomes a critical and key talent. Defeating an "enemy" who may turn out to be a potential customer can prove to be a short-term victory.

Global leaders must be relationship driven...[They must] build networks to deliver results and work with others, including competitors, customers, employees.... They must have the ability to understand that someone who is their customer one day may be their competitor the next day and vice versa. This is the whole key to the network.^[14]

Partnering with Customers

As companies have become larger and more global, there has been a shift from buying standalone products to buying integrated solutions.^[15] One reason for this shift is economy of scale. Huge retail corporations, like Home Depot and Wal-Mart, do not want to deal with thousands of vendors. They prefer to work with fewer vendors who can deliver not only products but systems for delivery that are customized to meet their needs. A second reason is the convergence of technology. Many customers now want "network solutions," not just hardware and software.

As relationships with their customers continue to change, leaders from supply organizations will need to become more like partners and less like salespeople. The trend is a shift toward building long-term customer relationships, not just achieving short-term sales. For example, a large healthcare provider recently went through a process of vendor partnering in which each vendor was asked to partner with the customer by adhering to specific quality standards and price ranges for their products. In return, the vendor would be put at a priority position on the customer's vendor list. Companies that were interested in moving from a transaction relationship to a partnership agreed to the long-term relationship with the client. Those that didn't were cut off the vendor list. The relationship benefited the vendors because they became priority suppliers to the customer; it benefited the customer, whose supplier list went from 400-plus vendors to about 150. The sustainable, high-level partnership thus maximized opportunities for both customer and supplier.

This trend towards partnerships means that suppliers need to develop a much deeper understanding of the customer's total business. They must be willing to look at the big picture in terms of delivery and reliability. They must make many small sacrifices to achieve a large gain. In short, they will need to act like partners.

At Accenture, the leadership has built in the practice of sharing risk and responsibility with the client. Depending on its needs, Accenture partners with its customers by establishing teams comprised of individuals from both Accenture and the client organization. These teams are responsible for the project, and the relationships go on for the life of the project, usually one to five years. Thus Accenture uses a team-building method to partner with its customers.

Partnering with Suppliers

As the shift toward integrated solutions advances, leaders will have to change their relationship with suppliers. A great example is IBM. "A growing percentage of IBM's business now involves customized solutions incorporating non-IBM products and services. While the idea of IBM selling non-IBM products was almost unheard of in the past, it is now becoming commonplace—to the benefit of customers and, in the long run, to IBM itself."^[16] The same trend is occurring in the pharmaceutical and telecommunications world.

In a world in which a company sold standalone products, partnering with suppliers was not only seen as unnecessary, it may have been viewed as unethical! The company's job was to "get the supplier down" to the lowest possible price in order to increase margins and profitability. Leaders who partnered with suppliers may well have been viewed as "helping the enemy" or having a "conflict of interest." Today, many leaders realize that their success is directly related to their supplier's success. In fact, Northrop Grumman, one of America's leading defense contractors, actually includes commitment to suppliers as one of its core values.

Today, suppliers are often seen as key partners. Leaders of the future will be able to transcend differences and focus on a common good—serving the ultimate end user of the product or service. For instance, in order to bring the client whole solutions, Accenture has created partnerships and working alliances with manufacturers of hardware and software. In these instances Accenture leaders might bring representatives from their vendor companies as part of the Accenture team. These representatives participate in the discussion of the client's strategy and suggest the possible technological solutions that would be provided by the suppliers. In this way, the client sees an integrated organization that works in partnership with its vendors.

Another way in which Accenture creates value for the client and provides customers to its suppliers is through second-party alliances with its vendors. For instance, Accenture might be asked to implement an e-commerce system. It would then create the Web interface, implement the technology infrastructure, and help the client acquire hardware and software to support the client's strategic set of initiatives. Because Accenture has a second-party alliance with IBM or Microsoft, for instance, it can help the client procure hardware and software at discounted prices. The benefits to the client are threefold: It does not have to deal separately with many suppliers, Accenture can provide better discounts on hardware and software, and it also has the opportunity to work with proven Accenture vendors.

Critical to working with suppliers, especially suppliers who were at one time competitors, is recognizing that when the company is at risk or is experiencing a failure, finger-pointing, scapegoating, and blaming are not productive options. However, these tactics are used, as was the case in the 1990s when Firestone and Ford blamed each other for the malfunctioning Explorer. To combat such challenges, one car manufacturer has offered to teach process skills and quality skills to its suppliers. This offer was revolutionary, because the car industry is historically competitive. Now that there are fewer vendors, suppliers, and car companies, because they've merged and integrated, the common good is paramount. In such instances, looking at suppliers as key partners is critical behavior change for companies.

Partnering with Competitors

The most radical change in the role of leader as partner has come in the area of partnering with competitors. This has moved from the unthinkable to the commonplace. For instance, Digital Equipment Corporation and Hewlett-Packard were staunch competitors. After Digital Equipment Corporation integrated with Compaq in the late 1990s, Compaq merged with Hewlett-Packard. In these merger situations, competitive companies merge because they have market opportunities or market share to gain by the alliance.

Mergers between competitors start contentiously, but usually within two to three years into the merger process, the relationship changes and the collaboration creates something very valuable to the market.

Another style of collaboration between possible competitors is co-branding. The impetus for the idea of co-branding often starts out as a competitive challenge. How will the company market its product? Does it emphasize the product or what is in the product? For instance, many products now put the Equal (artificial sweetener) co-brand on their package. Equal takes a back seat as the secondary brand on the product, yet the collaboration benefits Equal as well as the product that carries its brand.

A unique collaborative effort to boost the building economy in San Diego, California, was instigated in the 1990s by the San Diego Builder's Association. The Association started a house-raising competition in which teams of up to 700 people were to build a house in four hours. Vendors participated by donating materials, and unions worked together on the same sites. The competition created a media hype for the housing market, because they were able to build the houses cheaply. The vendors, builders, and unions participated together in the competition because the survival of the building community was at risk. The result was increased unity, new and improved methods of construction, and a positive impact on the construction economy in San Diego.

Most of the high-potential leaders that we interviewed saw competitors as potential customers, suppliers, and partners. Few had clear lines of demarcation. While there are still some noted exceptions to this trend (e.g., Coca-Cola and Pepsi), the direction of the curve is very clear. Most organizations that rely on knowledge workers have varied and complex relationships with competitors.

When today's competitors may become tomorrow's customers, the definition of "winning" changes. People have memories. Unfairly "bashing" competitors or striving to ruin their business could have harsh long-term consequences.

Competitor bashing is common practice among large hardware and software vendors versus large consulting vendors. Many companies offer consulting and strategy services, while other companies offer hardware and software services and free consulting. The company that offers the free consulting may tell the customer that the expense of a consulting service is greater than necessary. The consulting company may claim that "you get what you pay for with free services." Both of these methods lead to confusion for the client. In this case it is the responsibility of the leader in the customer organization to determine what will lead to quantitative value for his or her organization. These leaders must understand all the quantification elements of each competitor in order to equate one against the other and to distinguish between the products and services offered. One method of accomplishing this is to list ten necessary characteristics and base the decision on whether or not the competitors offer these as part of their products and services. However, in any case, the negative comments lead to increased animosity between the competitors and leave little room for future collaborations.

While competitors should not expect collusion or unfair practices, they should expect integrity, respectful treatment, and fair dealing.

The effective global leader of the future will create a network of relationships to achieve organizational goals and objectives. They will get input and buy-in from all levels, including clients and suppliers, before global goals and objectives are fully adopted and incorporated into short-term and medium-term projects and long-term strategies.

These leaders will build and reinforce new matrices of real and virtual teams and projects. Employees will report to many different leaders, who will focus on people, relationships, and processes, not just ideas, data, and products.

Effective global leaders will seek and build tactical and strategic alliances, joint ventures, and partnerships with external counterparts around the world. They will outsource nonproprietary work to specialized, third-party providers.

A key characteristic for global leaders of the future is the ability to manage outsourced corporate resources, which are expected to account for a far higher percentage of overall available resources than they are today.^[17]

As reengineering, restructuring, and downsizing lead to a world in which outsourcing of all but core activities becomes the norm, the ability to negotiate complex alliances and manage networks of relationships will become a critical skill for many leaders of the future.

Conclusion

Building partnerships is a difficult task. It involves negotiations and open communication about each party's roles and responsibilities, and it also entails taking risks and believing that each party involved in the relationship will meet its obligations. Three necessary components to all partnerships are

1. Belief—in the partner's capabilities, skills, and promises.
2. Trust—that the partner will follow through on commitments.
3. Accountability—that the partner will be responsible for any shortcomings.

In addition, there must be a foundation in place by which to measure each partner's success, and no party should be held totally responsible for any outcomes, whether they be positive or negative. To this end, it is critical to establish the necessary characteristics, responsibilities, and roles at the front end of the relationship. One solution is to have each partner create a matrix of activities to be achieved; the skills, talents, and competencies needed; and, if possible, the names of individuals who will fill each role. To lessen the risk, each partner should fill in the matrix before the financial model is agreed upon. For instance, one partner may take 70 percent of responsibility for the project, while the other partner takes 30 percent. The financial model must underscore this relationship, or the partnership will be unlikely to work.

The trends toward more partnering are reinforcing each other. For example, as employees feel less job security, they begin to see suppliers, customers, and competitors as potential employers. The fact that leaders need to learn more about these other organizations, build long-term relationships, and develop win-win partnerships means that the other organizations are even more likely to hire the leaders. In many cases this is seen as a positive, not a negative, by both organizations. As the trend toward outsourcing increases, it becomes more difficult to determine who is a customer, supplier, direct report, manager, or partner.

Most high-potential leaders believe that the leader of the future will need to be far more skilled than the leader of the past at building relationships. In many ways the "old world" was simpler. Telling workers (who know less than we do) what to do is a lot simpler than developing relationships with partners (who know more than we do). Being able to work in a "silo"—a position in which the employee doesn't believe he or she needs to know what's going on in the rest of the corporation, like a low-level accountant—is a lot simpler than having to build partnerships with peers across the organization. "Taking orders" from managers is a lot simpler than having to challenge ideas that are not going to meet customer needs. Selling a product to customers is a lot simpler than providing an integrated solution. Getting the lowest price from suppliers is a lot simpler than understanding their complex business needs. Vying with competitors is a lot simpler than having to develop complex customer-supplier-competitor relationships.

As organizations expand across the globe, global leaders preside over workers located anywhere in the world, and in an alliance or partnership, they may have to generate results from staff in other companies, with different corporate cultures, styles, and reporting relationships. As such, global leaders must build teams and create networks to accomplish organizational goals. By exploring and building partnerships and relationships with companies and individuals within and outside their organizations, global leaders add incredible value to and continue the success of the company.

Resource Section: Building Partnerships

ITEM 14: Treats Coworkers as Partners, Not Competitors

WHAT TO DO

• Recognize that cooperating and collaborating with others will enable you to achieve more than you could alone.
• Understand the functions of other departments and the roles of your coworkers in achieving company goals.
• Make explicit how others' goals are compatible with your goals and how their success benefits you.
• Increase effective communication and collaboration with people in your company.
• Commit to improve interdepartmental relationship and idea exchanging.
• Avoid labeling and stereotyping others.
• Recognize the value of a win-win orientation toward others.
• Create a relationship of trust between you and your coworkers.
• Recognize and encourage ongoing interactions among employees across the organization.
• Involve stakeholders in the development of your goals and plans.
• Invite ongoing feedback from your coworkers.

HOW TO DO IT

• Review the company goals, organizational structure, and departmental objectives.
• Explain to members of your organization how other groups' objectives relate to them.
• Identify others who are affected by the work of your group. Invite them to participate in or react to the development of your goals and plans.
• Hold joint meetings with other groups so that everyone can share their specific role, needs, and perspective.
• Look for ideas or suggestions of others that you agree with or can support.
• Try to balance offering your viewpoints with accepting others' ideas to build a sense of shared commitment to team decisions.
• Create opportunities for people to meet informally across levels and across departments to learn more about each other.
• Share credit with others.
• Encourage the free flow of business and technical information between organizations.
• If you offer resources or information to others, keep your word. Do what you say you are going to do.
• Show your trust in others by being open about your own mistakes or problems.
• Encourage your team to ask their counterparts for assistance in solving problems.
• Recognize others' assistance.
• Ask for feedback from others. When appropriate, use it. If you can't use it, explain to them why not.

HOW TO USE THIS SKILL FURTHER

• Encourage members of your work group to volunteer for crossfunctional teams so that they can meet their counterparts from other departments.
• Recognize, anticipate, and meet others' needs.
• Model the principle of supportive relations. Don't participate in putting down others; make each interaction one of support and respect.

RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT

• You and others may work in a nondefensive manner to find solutions to problems. You may all be open and honest about your needs.
• You may get more done with less aggravation.
• Others may spontaneously offer you the resources or the information you need.

READINGS

• Boards that Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations. John Carver. 1997. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, ISBN 0787908118.
• Corporate Cultures: The Rites and Rituals of Corporate Life. Terrence E. Deal & Allan A. Kennedy. 2000. Perseus: Reading, MA, ISBN 0738203300.
• Encouraging the Heart: A Leader's Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others. James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner. 1999. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, ISBN 787941840.
• Gung Ho! Turn On the People in Any Organization. Kenneth H. Blanchard & Sheldon Bowles. 1997. William Morrow: New York, ISBN 068815428X.
• Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People. Charles A. O'Reilly & Jeffrey Pfeffer. 2000. Harvard Business School Press: Boston, ISBN 875848982.
• Thank God It's Monday!: 14 Values We Need to Humanize the Way We Work. Ken Cloke, Joan Goldsmith, & Warren G. Bennis. 1996. McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 786310960.
• The Essential Drucker. Peter Ferdinand Drucker. 2001. HarperBusiness: New York, ISBN 66210879.
• The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, & Tom Peters. 1996. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, ISBN 0787902691.

ITEM 15: Unites His or Her Organization into an Effective Team

WHAT TO DO

• Show and explain to individuals on your team how their jobs or tasks and responsibilities are interdependent.
• Help the group take ownership for their work as a team.
• Share the benefits that comes from teaming with individuals and the group.
• Demonstrate or express your belief that the group can work effectively as a team; create the expectation that individuals will work together.
• Develop a team made up of people with complementary strengths.
• Do not overlook individual needs. Attend to individual needs prior to or during the team process.
• When appropriate, keep feedback focused on the group's working relationships.
• Make sure your team members understand their responsibilities and their role within the organization.
• Get a sense from other team members of how they see their roles in contrast with other team members.
• Encourage individuals to look for and build on points of agreement.
• Explain and model team behaviors to the group.
• Recognize and reward those individuals who work well on a team.
• Have fun with your team.

HOW TO DO IT

• Get the team members to generate and agree to a set of ground rules for working together as a team.
• Encourage the group to agree on ways to handle team issues or conflicts among themselves.
• Explain (and model) that team members listen with interest to each other, do not interrupt, do not make team decisions without listening to everyone first, and act in a manner that values the diversity of people and ideas.
• Encourage individuals to look at each other as resources for the project or task they are working on, or for meeting the department objectives.
• Reward and recognize teams by celebrating successes or providing tangible rewards.
• Assess your ability to be a good team player; be a role model or work to improve your skills.
• Express positive comments about the team's ability to work together. Cite previous successes they have had in working together.
• Observe those managers who manage teams well, and ask them for advice.
• Ask the team members what they need from you to work better together.
• Ask to sit in on a meeting of a team known for working well together; take notes of what you observe and make suggestions to your team based on what you have seen.

HOW TO USE THIS SKILL FURTHER

• Take a management course in team building. Offer the group ideas on team building after you complete the course.
• Practice team building techniques with a group outside of work.
• Conduct a team building session with your team.

RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT

• People may ask to be on your team.
• Employees may express their enthusiasm for being on your team.
• Quality and productivity of your team may improve.

READINGS

• Leading Self-Directed Work Teams: A Guide to Developing New Team Leadership Skills. Kimball Fisher. 1999. McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0071349243.
• Pioneering Organizations: The Convergence of Individualism, Teamwork, and Leadership. Larry N. Davis & Chip R. Bell. 2000. Executive Excellence: Provo, UT, ISBN 1890009849.
• Teaming Up. Darrel Ray & Howard Bronstein. 1995. McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0070516464.
• Teams At the Top. Jon R. Katzenbach. 1998. Harvard Business School Press: Boston, ISBN 0875847897.
• The 17 Indisputable Laws of Teamwork: Embrace Them and Empower Your Team. John C. Maxwell. 2001. Thomas Nelson: Nashville, TN, ISBN 0785274340.
• The New Why Teams Don't Work: What Goes Wrong and How to Make It Right. Harvey A. Robbins & Michael Finley. 2000. Berrett-Koehler: San Francisco, ISBN 1576751104.
• The Performance Culture: Maximizing the Power of Teams: Darrel Ray & Howard Bronstein. 2001. IPC Press: London, ISBN 0970950500.
• Tips for Teams: Kimball Fisher, Steven Rayner, & William Belgard. 1995. McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0070212244.

ITEM 16: Builds Effective Partnerships Across the Company

WHAT TO DO

• Understand the functions of other departments and their roles in achieving company goals.
• Be clear about the importance of every individual and team to your organization's success.
• Make explicit how others' goals are compatible with your goals and how their success benefits you.
• Build teamwork among different groups across the organization through formal committees.
• Create a climate of trust between your department and other departments.
• Practice ethical and sensible organizational politics.
• Make each interaction with other departments one of support and respect.
• Recognize and encourage ongoing interactions among employees across disciplines.
• Foster an environment that utilizes constant communication, clarity of ideas, and performance plans that will encourage open communication between departments.
• Have strong communication pathways that keep everyone informed. Secretive behavior might be seen as politically motivated or self-motivated.
• When communicating with others, carefully select your words, anticipating the effect they will have.
• Involve stakeholders in the development of your goals and plans.
• Invite feedback from others.

HOW TO DO IT

Encourage the free flow of business and technical information between departments.

• Review the company goals, organizational structure, and departmental objectives.
• Explain to members of your organization how other groups' objectives relate to them.
• Increase your interaction with employees and colleagues in other departments.
• Hold joint meetings with other groups for all to share their specific roles and perspectives.
• Evaluate your staff on their willingness and ability to work as part of a team in the organization.
• Encourage your employees to develop relationships with people across the organization.
• If you offer resources or information to others, keep your word. Do what you say you are going to do.
• Show your trust in others by being open about your own mistakes or problems.
• Encourage your team to ask their counterparts for assistance in solving problems.
• Recognize and praise others' assistance.
• Identify individuals or groups who are affected by the work of your team, and invite them to participate in or react to the development of your goals and plans.
• Ask for feedback from others. When appropriate, use it. If you can't use it, explain to them why not.
• Communicate your support for your organization's mission outward and upward as well as in your own organization.

HOW TO USE THIS SKILL FURTHER

• Seek ways to further support others. Anticipate and meet their needs.
• Encourage members of your work group to volunteer for crossfunctional teams so that they can meet their counterparts from other departments.
• Volunteer to serve as a counselor in a community organization.
• Practice open communication with your spouse, family, and friends.

RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT

• You may be asked to serve on planning teams and as an advisor outside your own organization.
• You may expect new assignments and opportunities that broaden your career in the company.
• Communications across departmental boundaries may increase.
• Departments may work more closely and efficiently, and thus become a unified company team.

READINGS

• 40 Tools for Cross-Functional Teams: Building Synergy for Breakthrough Creativity. Walter J. Michalski & Dana G. King. 1998. Productivity Press: Portland, OR, ISBN 1563271982.
• A Simpler Way. Margaret J. Wheatley & Myron Kellner-Rogers. 1996. Berrett-Koehler: San Francisco, ISBN 1881052958.
• Collaborative Creativity: Unleashing the Power of Shared Thinking. Jack Ricchiuto. 1996. Oak Hill Press: Winchester, VA, ISBN 1886939128.
• Dance Lessons: Six Steps to Great Partnerships in Business & Life. Chip R. Bell & Heather Shea. 1998. Berrett-Koehler: San Francisco, ISBN 1576750434.
• Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture: Based on the Competing Values Framework. Kim S. Cameron & Robert E. Quinn. 1998. Addison-Wesley: Boston, ISBN 0201338718.
• Journey to the Emerald City: Achieve a Competitive Edge by Creating a Culture of Accountability. Roger Connors & Tom Smith. 1999. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, ISBN 0735200521.
• The Boundaryless Organization: Breaking the Chains of Organizational Structure. Ron Ashkenas, Dave Ulrich, C. K. Prahalad, & Todd Jick. 1998. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, ISBN 078790113X.

ITEM 17: Discourages Destructive Comments about Other People or Groups

WHAT TO DO

• Refrain from making destructive comments.
• Set a standard in your organization and sphere of influence of not allowing destructive comments.
• Explain how this standard aligns with your company's values; stress the importance of all employees behaving in alignment with these values.
• Manage in a way that recognizes and values diversity.
• Help people stay focused on performance or issues; stop them when they attack people or nonspecific "theys."
• Be clear about what is constructive appraisal and what is destructive criticism.

HOW TO DO IT

• Ask employees and colleagues to alert you when you make destructive comments.
• Discuss the standard at staff meetings, and hold employees accountable when negative comments are made.
• Give yourself an incentive to discourage destructive comments by considering what will happen if you withhold your leadership and allow the comments to continue.
• Encourage and reward people who speak to the point without being influenced by negative emotions or resorting to destructive comments.
• Ask peers, coworkers, and employees to be responsible for reminding each other to stick to the standard.
• Hold one-on-one meetings with people in your organization who persist in making negative comments; remind them of your expectations and that you need to see an immediate change in their behavior.
• When destructive comments are made, politely but firmly interrupt; stop people from using negative labeling or jargon about other people or organizations.
• Ask people to come up with ideas for expressing themselves in a positive way; reward their efforts with recognition and praise.
• Give constructive feedback in a positive way so that you are an example of how to give criticism without being destructive.
• Take the time to explain (in private as needed) why comments are destructive as opposed to critical; some people do not know the difference.
• Encourage people to consider the short-term and long-term consequences of their destructive comments before they make them.
• Discuss this company value at staff meetings (yours and those you attend); listen to the dialogue and address issues as they arise.
• Write a positive statement about this topic and keep it where you can see it daily.

HOW TO USE THIS SKILL FURTHER

• Be aware of your own behavior; observe when and about whom you make destructive comments.
• Make each interaction with your colleagues, employees, and other departments in the company one of support and respect.
• Make it a rule at your house not to allow your family to make destructive comments; apply the rule.

RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT

• You may gain a reputation for being even-handed and positive.
• People may ask to work with you because of your positive influence.

READINGS

• High Five! The Magic of Working Together. Ken Blanchard, Sheldon M. Bowles, Don Carew, & E. Parisi-Carew. 2000. William Morrow: New York, ISBN 688170366.
• How to Win Friends & Influence People. Dale Carnegie, Dorothy Carnegie, & Arthur R. Pell. 1998. Pocket Books: New York, ISBN 0671027034.
• People Skills. Robert Bolton. 1986. Simon & Schuster: London, ISBN 067162248X.
• Redefining Diversity. R. Roosevelt Thomas. 1996. AMACOM: New York, ISBN 814402283.
• The Consensus Building Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Reaching Agreement. Lawrence Susskind, Sarah McKearnan, & Jennifer Thomas-Larmer. 1999. Corwin Press: Thousand Oaks, CA, ISBN 0761908447.
• The Diversity Advantage: A Guide to Making Diversity Work. Lenora Billings-Harris & Roger E. Herman. 1998. Oakhill Press: Winchester, VA, ISBN 188693925X.
• The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation. Daniel Yankelovich. 2001. Touchstone Books: Carmichael, CA, ISBN 0684865661.

ITEM 18: Builds Effective Alliances with Other Organizations

WHAT TO DO

• Recognize the advantages that come from teaming with individuals from other industries and countries.
• Seek ways to build mutually beneficial and long-term relationships with other internal and external organizations.
• Create a climate of trust between your company and other organizations, anticipating any work that may be done with them in the future.
• Recognize that it takes more effort to build a trusting business relationship when you are working with people from another business.
• Make each interaction with another company one of support and respect.
• Understand that every organization is a "human" organization. Get to know the key people who always seem to make a difference, and establish a rapport with them.
• Consider third parties as potential collaborators that would be mutually beneficial in terms of quality and/or competitiveness.
• Meet with colleagues from different companies and make explicit how their goals are compatible with your goals and how you can work together to eliminate redundancies and be more efficient.
• Network with people from other geographical areas. They may be more willing to share information if they don't see you as a direct competitor.
• Build teamwork among different groups inside and outside the organization through formal committees.
• Encourage employees to join professional associations where they can get to know people with whom they can share information about the market trend.
• Recognize and encourage ongoing interactions among employees across disciplines.

HOW TO DO IT

• Communicate your support for your company's mission outward and upward.
• Review the company goals, organizational structure, and departmental objectives.
• Explain to members of your organization how other company's objectives relate to them.
• Hold joint meetings with other companies for all to share their specific roles and perspectives.
• Identify organizations that are affected by the work of your company and invite them to participate in or react to your company's goals.
• If you offer resources or information to others, keep your word. Do what you say you are going to do.
• Ask for feedback from others. When appropriate, use it. If you can't use it, explain to them why not.
• Show your trust in others by being open about your own mistakes or problems.
• Explain to members of your organization how other groups' objectives relate to them and how they can work together.
• Encourage your employees to develop relationships with people from different organizations to help them achieve company goals and results.
• Seek ways to further support others. Anticipate their needs and meet them.
• Encourage people from your company to get to know people from other companies.

HOW TO USE THIS SKILL FURTHER

• Attend alliance-building and leadership workshops. Practice your skills with a group outside of work.
• Participate in friendship-building activities, such as sporting events, in order to develop long-term relationship with other organizations.
• Volunteer to join networking groups.

RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT

• The productivity of your organization may increase.
• You may be asked to serve on planning teams and as an advisor outside your own organization.
• You may expect new assignments and opportunities that broaden your career in the company.

READINGS

• Fast Alliances: Power Your E-Business. Larraine D. Segil. 2000. John Wiley & Sons, New York, ISBN 471396834.
• Free Market Fusion. Glenn R. Jones. 1999. Cyber Publishing Group: Englewood, CO, ISBN 1885400683.
• Instant Teamwork: Motivate and Energize Your Team Now! Brian Clegg & Paul Birch. 1999. Kogan Page: London, ISBN 074942804X.
• Intelligent Business Alliances: How to Profit Using Today's Most Important Strategic Tool. Larraine D. Segil. 1996. Times Books: New York, ISBN 812924665.
• International Management: Text and Case. Paul W. Beamish, Allen Morrison, & Philip M. Rosenzweig. 1997. Richard D. Irwin: Burr Ridge, IL, ISBN 0256193495.
• Teaming Up. Darrel Ray & Howard Bronstein. 1995. McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0070516464.
• The Collaboration Challenge. James E. Austin. 2000. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, ISBN 0787952206.
• The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations. James M. Kouzes & Barry Z. Posner. 1996. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, ISBN 0787902691.

ITEM 19: Creates a Network of Relationships that Help to Get Things Done

WHAT TO DO

• Be clear about the importance of every individual and team to your organization's success.
• Understand the functions of other departments and their roles in achieving company goals. Obtain this information through fellow colleagues.
• Meet with colleagues from different departments. Explain how their goals are compatible with your goals and how you can work together to eliminate redundancies and be more efficient.
• Build teamwork among different groups across the organization. Establish formal committees to achieve better results.
• Create a climate of trust between your department and other departments. Anticipate any work that may be done with them in the future.
• Recognize and encourage ongoing communication among employees across disciplines.
• Make each interaction with other departments one of support and respect.

HOW TO DO IT

• Review the company's goals, organizational structure, and departmental objectives with colleagues from other areas of the enterprise.
• Encourage the free flow of business and technical information between departments.
• Explain to members of your organization how other groups' objectives relate to theirs and how they can work together to help eliminate redundancies of work.
• Hold joint meetings with other groups for all to share their specific roles and responsibilities.
• Evaluate your staff on their willingness and ability to work as part of a team in the organization.
• Encourage your employees to develop relationships with people across the organization to help them achieve company goals and results.
• Identify others who are affected by the work of your group, and invite them to participate in or react to the development of your goals and plans.
• Communicate your support for your company's mission outward and upward as well as in your own organization.
• Encourage people around the company to get to know each other. Encourage your work group to volunteer for crossfunctional teams and to ask others for assistance in solving problems.
• Seek ways to further support others. Anticipate and meet their needs.

HOW TO USE THIS SKILL FURTHER

• Practice networking skills with people outside of work.
• Make each interaction you have one of support and respect.
• Participate in friendship-building activities, like sporting events and company celebrations, to develop long-term relationships with your coworkers, employees, and people in other organizations.

RESULTS YOU CAN EXPECT

• The productivity of your organization may increase.
• You may be asked to serve on planning teams and as an advisor outside your own organization.
• You may expect new assignments and opportunities that broaden your career in the company.

READINGS

• 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership. John C. Maxwell. 1998. Thomas Nelson: Nashville, TN, ISBN 785274316.
• Beep! Beep!: Competing in the Age of the Road Runner. R. Chip Bell & Oren Harari. 2001. Warner Books: New York, ISBN 446676543.
• Danger in the Comfort Zone: From Boardroom to Mailroom--How to Break the Entitlement Habit That's Killing American Business. Judith M. Bardwick. 1995. AMACOM: New York, ISBN 814478867.
• The Magic of Dialogue: Transforming Conflict into Cooperation. Daniel Yankelovich. 2001. Touchstone Books: Carmichael, CA, ISBN 0684865661.
• The ROI of Human Capital: Measuring the Economic Value of Employee Performance. Jac Fitz-Enz. 2000. AMACOM: New York, ISBN 814405746.
• Teaming Up. Darrel Ray & Howard Bronstein. 1995. McGraw-Hill: New York, ISBN 0070516464.
• Trust in the Balance: Building Successful Organizations on Results, Integrity, and Concern. Robert Bruce Shaw. 1997. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, ISBN 0787902861.

Endnotes

1. Portions of this chapter were originally published in Partnering: The New Face of Leadership. Copyright © 2003 Larraine Segil, Marshall Goldsmith, James Belasco, AMACOM Books division of American Management Association, New York, NY. Reprinted by permission of the publisher. All rights reserved. http://www.amacombooks.org.

2. In this chapter, we use the term partnership to mean a short- or long-term business relationship for the purpose of achieving a goal—not necessarily to mean a legal entity.

3. Telecommunications, United States, 32.

4. Healthcare, France, 44.

5. Transportation, Canada, 47.

6. See "Coaching Free Agents." Goldsmith, Sommerville, & Greenberg-Walt. In Coaching for Leadership. Eds. Marshall Goldsmith, Laurence Lyons, and Alyssa Freas. 2000. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.

7. Drucker, Peter. The Essential Drucker. HarperBusiness: New York, 2001, p. 78.

8. Ashkenas, Ron, Dave Ulrich, Todd Jick, & Steve Kerr. The Boundaryless Organization. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, 1995.

9. Brian Gallagher, personal interview with Marshall Goldsmith, January 24, 2002.

10. Healthcare, United States, 33.

11. Pharmaceutical, United States, 41.

12. Technology, Poland, 39.

13. Technology, United States, 26.

14. Products and Services, United States/England/Norway, 49.

15. Goldsmith, Marshall. "On a Consumer Watershed." Leader to Leader, no. 5, Summer 1997. Drucker Foundation, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.

16. Goldsmith, Marshall. "On a Consumer Watershed." Leader to Leader, no. 5, Summer 1997. Drucker Foundation, Jossey-Bass: San Francisco.

17. Investments, Taiwan, 32.

18. Information and quotes taken from interview with G. Fred DiBona, Jr., conducted by Cathy Greenberg, December 2001.

19. Information taken from G. Fred DiBona, Jr., Esq. Curriculum vitae, American Specialty Health press releases (http://www.ashplans.com/NewsPress/content/Articles/2000/p_sep072000c.asp) and Atlas Venture News and Events, http://www.atlasventure.com/news_content.asp?ne_id=367; [email protected].