What role is Alliance Management going to play in innovating how the organization is managed? This question is increasingly important as more and more organizations are adopting collaborative business models and strategies. Is its focus only going to remain on the tactical management of alliances, primarily between a company and specific partners or is it going to step up its game and take its rightful place at the CEO’s table?

It is clear from the many conversations we’ve been having with alliance managers (primarily in biopharma industries) that the profession of alliance management is at a crossroad. Some alliance managers believe that their focus should remain strictly on the alliance partner and the internal alliance team. At the same time, there are an increasing number of alliance managers who believe that path will lead to the marginalization of the profession. As more and more managers across the organization rely on various “partners” to get their job done, everyone needs collaborative ability so the need for dedicated alliance managers is reduced – or so goes this line of reasoning.

 At the same time, we are hearing from an increasing number of alliance managers who are getting involved in a number of new endeavors – supporting managers who have responsibility for outsourced providers, or taking a lead role in integrating acquisitions, for example. About two years ago, we wrote a paper, Collaborative Network Management: An Emerging Role for Alliance Management in which we discussed applying key alliance management principles to other relationships, especially those upon whom the alliance depends for success. These include contract manufacturers, research organizations, distribution and logistics providers, among others. This is essentially a grass roots approach to evolving the management of the organization to apply some of the governance, processes, and tools that can best support collaborative relationships. 

We are convinced a bottoms-up approach is no longer sufficient. When the business model and strategy of an organization depend on collaboration, senior leadership – the guys and gals that sit at the CEO’s table – must acknowledge that working collaboratively requires a different management approach than that which worked within more self-contained models. Alliance management has expertise in leading and managing networked organizations. It is the only discipline within an organization that can serve as the CEO’s right hand: speeding decision making, breaking down barriers, overcoming the partisan bickering that can undermine collaboration.  Now is the time for the profession to think more broadly about its role, clearly demonstrate to senior executives the value alliance management brings, and get on with the business of innovating management for today’s collaborative business models. 

What do you think? Please share your thoughts on this important question.

At a few conferences we’ve spoken at lately, we’ve been asked, “What are the skills of collaboration?” This is a great question, because we’re also seeing collaboration appear on the lists of competencies employees are expected to develop as they progress in an organization. Collaboration isn’t a skill. It isn’t teamwork and it isn’t a technology. It’s a purposeful way of working intended to gain access to and leverage valuable resources in pursuit of objectives. And that’s the real power – the ability to access and utilize the knowledge, expertise, relationships, and other resources of people in ways that benefit and help achieve the objectives of all concerned.

We’ve just written a new article that introduces three principles of collaboration and defines ten competencies required to work collaboratively. Let us know what you think. Do you agree with us? Over the summer, we taught this way of thinking and acting in several executive education programs and management workshops. Our Collaborating to Win™ Assessment provides a powerful metric to use to guide your efforts. If your organization needs to improve its way of working, we can customize a program for you.