As major corporations issue return-to-office mandates, organizational leaders focus on the wrong metrics. The critical question isn't where employees work but how teams collaborate to drive results. Data from more than 3,000 global teams analyzed by the Ferrazzi Greenlight Research Institute indicates that transforming traditional leadership models to more collaborative peer-to-peer "teamship" yields measurable performance improvements: a 79% increase in candor, a 46% increase in collaboration, and a 44% increase in accountability. The data shows that these improvements occur regardless of whether teams operate remotely, in hybrid environments, in co-located offices.
The problem to be solved is not location. The real issue facing organizations is that the traditional workplace social contract—the often unspoken agreements governing how team members interact and collaborate—no longer serves organizations in today's volatile business environment. Forward-thinking organizations are establishing new social contracts that emphasize collective responsibility and mutual accountability. The key behavioral shift from leadership to teamship is where peers actively participate in leading the team and elevating each other's performance.
At the heart of this new social contract lies the principle of co-elevation—a commitment among teammates not only to achieve their mission but to actively lift each other up in the process. This changes the traditional workplace dynamics of individual success, mattering more than team achievement.
Co-elevation manifests in specific behaviors and practices. For instance, teams engage in regular "Stress Testing" sessions where peers openly challenge assumptions, identify potential risks in each other's initiatives, but also actively offer support. This practice creates psychological safety for constructive criticism while ensuring better outcomes through diverse perspectives.
Organizations implementing this new social contract begin to see collaboration as a “Stack” of options rather than a binary choice between working in or out of the office. The Stack identifies four distinct modes of collaboration: asynchronous, remote, hybrid, and in-person collaboration.
Asynchronous collaboration, where team members work toward shared goals on their schedules, forms the foundation of the Stack. Companies like Dropbox have leveraged this insight to create "virtual-first" environments that optimize both independent work and meaningful connection. Their approach demonstrates how organizations can transcend the binary remote versus in-office debate to focus on actual performance outcomes.
Implementing this new social contract requires simple, repeatable practices that make cultural change concrete and actionable. One key practice is the "Red Flag Replay"—regular sessions where teams review their adherence to the agreed-upon behavioral standards. Unlike traditional performance reviews, these in-meeting sessions focus on collective behavior and mutual accountability.
Another crucial practice is peer coaching, where team members take active responsibility for each other's professional development—co-elevation is about growing together as well as winning together. This distributed approach to growth and learning creates stronger relationships while accelerating skill development across the organization.
For HR professionals, the new social contract is an opportunity to move beyond tactical discussions about workplace logistics to strategic conversations about team effectiveness. Success requires attention to several key factors:
First, organizations must explicitly discuss and agree upon behavioral expectations. This involves regular diagnostic assessment of team dynamics and structured practices that reinforce desired behaviors. By introducing a new social contract supported by daily practices, culture change becomes an actionable assignment rather than an abstract quarterly initiative. Team members engage in concrete behaviors each day that build toward larger organizational transformation.
As organizations navigate hybrid work arrangements and increasing technological complexity, the quality of human collaboration becomes increasingly crucial. The new social contract provides a framework for optimizing team performance regardless of physical location, offering a path forward in our evolving workplace landscape.