A new approach to leadership

Teamship in the boardroom refers to a leadership model where executives, rather than working in silos, operate as a cohesive, collaborative unit. Traditional executive structures emphasize defined, often isolated roles (e.g., CEO, CFO, COO), each with distinct authority. In contrast, teamship emphasizes: shared responsibility, collective decision-making, and a more integrated approach to leadership. It moves away from the hierarchical mindset, fostering a culture of trust, open communication, and unified purpose among board members.

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Traditional Boardroom Structure vs. Teamship

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In today's traditional boardroom, the executive leadership team (C-suite) is often structured in a column or silo model, where each member of the C-suite oversees their own domain:

- CEO (Chief Executive Officer): Oversees the entire company and is the ultimate decision-maker, though often delegates major financial, operational, and strategic decisions to others.

??- CFO (Chief Financial Officer)**: Focuses on financial health, planning, and strategy, typically holding exclusive decision-making power over the company's finances.

??- COO (Chief Operating Officer): Handles daily operations and ensures efficiency in processes, typically separated from other financial and strategic conversations.

- CMO (Chief Marketing Officer), CIO (Chief Information Officer), and other C-level roles each oversee their respective areas.

While collaboration happens, decision-making is segmented and aligned with their individual domains. Decisions are made in parallel rather than in a coordinated, unified fashion.

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Executive Teamship: A Shared Responsibility Model

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Under the concept of teamship at the board level, the traditional silos begin to dissolve:

1. Shared Decision-Makin: In teamship, all executives contribute to decisions across functions. For instance, the CFO isn’t just concerned with the budget, but also contributes to operational and strategic decisions. The CEO, COO, and others, meanwhile, become equally invested in the financial outcomes, creating cross-functional alignment.

??2. Unified Vision and Strategy: Instead of pursuing goals strictly related to their roles, the team aligns on a single shared vision. Each executive takes responsibility for the success of the entire company, not just their department.

??3. Trust and Empowerment: In a teamship-driven boardroom, members trust one another’s judgment, skills, and experience. Leaders feel empowered to offer insights across various areas and challenge one another to make more holistic decisions.

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4. Collaborative Leadership: There is less emphasis on rigid hierarchies and more on distributed leadership. Each executive is both a leader and a contributor. The focus shifts from personal accountability for isolated results to collective ownership of outcomes.

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?Impact on Collaboration with Other Teams in the Organization

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When the boardroom operates as a true team, the culture trickles down to the rest of the organization. Here's how it impacts collaboration across different teams:

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- Cross-Functional Teams: A boardroom that operates as a team encourages cross-functional collaboration within the organization. For example, when the CFO and CMO work together in the boardroom, their teams also develop collaborative initiatives that blend finance and marketing.

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- Unified Messaging and Direction: Teamship at the board level ensures consistent and unified communication. Employees across different levels will experience more coherent goals, priorities, and leadership, leading to fewer conflicting directives between departments.

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- Empowerment of Middle Management: When the C-suite operates with a collaborative mindset, middle management can feel empowered to do the same. Instead of reporting to siloed executives with different agendas, middle managers can make decisions aligned with a broader company vision and shared leadership goals.

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- Increased Agility: A team-oriented leadership approach enables faster responses to challenges. With shared ownership of challenges, executives don’t have to "pass the baton" to another leader when decisions cross domains; they can address issues together, allowing the company to pivot more quickly.

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Conclusion

Teamship in the boardroom breaks down the barriers of the traditional C-suite siloed structure, fostering shared accountability and collective leadership. This model of leadership promotes collaboration, trust, and agility, both within the executive team and throughout the broader organization. By setting an example of cooperation and shared responsibility at the top, the board fosters a culture that drives better teamwork, communication, and execution across all levels of the company.