It’s that certain ‘something’.

The Partnership Spirit and Behaviours

The John Lewis Partnership ‘Spirit’ is hard to define, but it’s a culmination of all the things that make our culture so special. Commercial success, openness, fairness, transparency and pride in what we do all contribute to the Partnership Spirit.

And John Spedan Lewis knew exactly what it would mean when he shared the responsibility of ownership to create Partners. He knew it would make everyone within the Partnership honour the privilege of ownership by contributing to its success. He knew it would help define the business and contribute to the sense of ‘spirit’ we all find so very special. He knew it would mean that no matter what our level, we would all agree to behave in a certain way. This means we:

• Take responsibility for our business success
• Build relationships powered by our principles
• Create real influence over our working lives

So by treating people as individuals, creating rewarding experiences at work and rewarding them with exceptional benefits, we’ve crafted a company that’s different. And in return, our Partners are expected to take responsibility for their performance, by looking at ‘what’ every individual has done and ‘how’ they’ve done it. This allows the business to set clear expectations and our Partners are happy to be measured against them.

That’s the certain ‘something’ you’ll find we all have. And it’s something we’re very proud of.

Be inspired Partnership Spirit video.

Our history. Your future? Partnership history video.

Our expectations are high. So are yours.

The Partnership is built on the principles of a democracy. We need leaders who have our behaviours at the core of how they manage. Those who can help determine our results by fulfilling the potential of others. Our Leadership Behaviours ask more of our leaders, knowing they’ll rise to the challenge. It’s as much about ‘how’ they’ll achieve things as it is about ‘what’ they’re striving to achieve.

And as we’re focused on the long-term (we’ve been around 150 years after all), your leadership will be a journey in itself. Commercially-minded, you’ll deliver results through our Partners by encouraging accountability. You’ll instil confidence by your decisiveness and have courage in your convictions. You’ll communicate what needs to be done and how we can achieve it. And in doing this, you’ll have the support of the Partners that work with you as they recognise you’re helping them to do better.

If you’re keen to know what these behaviours look like in more detail, visit the Road to Partnership section.

The whole is more than the sum of its parts.

Every Partner shares the responsibility of ownership. Every Partner plays a vital role. And if we all pull together, we know we can achieve great things. It’s why we all think about ‘how’ we can deliver excellence as a matter of course. We understand it’s this ‘how’ that is the corner-stone of our behaviours – genuinely understanding the difference they make in practice.

As well as providing a common goal, our behaviours measure your performance and highlight training and development opportunities. But you need to believe in them to deliver.

So if you believe you would take pride in being a co-owner and live up to what that means; if you are someone who makes things happen and always go the extra mile for customers; if you’re a great team player who’s keen to help others so that you all perform to your best; and if you’re always open to new things, Partnership life could well be for you.

If you’re keen to know what these behaviours look like in more detail, visit the Road to Partnership section.