Building The Leadership Ecosystem - Part 1
Observations
A high performing leadership team is one of the key drivers of value creation and needs to be treated as such.
It takes years for a team to become high performing, the process can be accelerated but not short cut.
Chemistry is important but very hard to predict and create, though it can be nurtured.
Relationships and capability are important but so too are having a shared agenda, execution capability and development.
Leaders who have created high performing teams, almost invariably have not taken a ‘paint by numbers’ approach but have acted as ‘great artists’.
Framework
These are the areas I encourage my clients to think about.
Core Team and Structure
Without a core team and structure, there is limited progress you can make.
The membership of the team is probably the single biggest influence on its ability to become high performing.
A* performers make a disproportionately positive contribution, toxic members (or whatever stronger word you want to call them) should be removed immediately and the toughest decisions are usually around the middling performers.
Evolving the team as the business context changes is a very difficult but essential judgement to make.
The structure of the team also has a significant impact. I have seen leadership teams as small as 4 and as a large as 12, work well. The relationship between technology and product, the business line / geography / functional split and many other organisational questions need to be decided based on the individual business context. Personally, I’m a pragmatist and would take account of individual capabilities as well as an having a view on the ideal structure.
A common understanding of the role of the team is also essential. For me the team collectively owns the leadership of the business. Individual members have multiple roles:
Owners of the whole business, led by the CEO.
Leaders of their own areas.
Individual performers.
It is not a committee with individuals representing their own areas. That is bureaucracy not leadership!
Unfortunately, recruitment is a far from exact science and requires considerable focus and effort.
Often the biggest regret CEO’s have is not taking the tough decisions about the people sooner, despite their instincts telling them to do so.
Shared Agenda
Without a shared agenda there is no sense of direction
It is important to have an explicit and shared view in each critical area eg strategy, values etc. However, the challenge is to create a coherent narrative, which makes sense of it all and the Exec communicates, role models and adapts credibly as the context changes. See Owning The Narrative.
Execution Capability
Without execution capability there is no momentum.
Momentum is key to the confidence and credibility of the Leadership Team. It applies at different levels:
Business eg: progress on organisational priorities.
Individuals eg: commitments being acted upon.
Leadership conversations eg: ideas and better insights captured and nurtured not lost.
Strong Relationships
Without strong relationships the team will struggle to work together effectively. Strong relationships need to be based on understanding, trust and respect.
Time together is the only way to achieve this.
A prerequisite for building relationships is that everybody is willing to engage. I have found time and again, that any member of the team who is consistently disruptive, for whatever reason, almost inevitably needs removing before the team can progress. This is different than people who are challenging, they can be valuable if you can find a way of harnessing their contribution.
Relationships can be developed by creating the right conversations, providing feedback, prompting greater self-awareness, encouraging people to develop and spending time together.
Individual Development
Key to developing the team is for individuals to take responsibility for their own performance and growth.
10 Top Tips
Creating A High Performing Leadership Team
Have an explicit objective – to be a high performing leadership team.
Make the CEO responsible – for the creation, development and performance of the leadership team. Do not delegate this (a good HRD should be a great support but not own it).
Focus on creating an ongoing leadership rhythm – the shape of the conversation facilitates and provokes the group to act as a leadership team. See Setting The Leadership Rhythm.
Be obsessive about the quality of the leadership conversation – The lack of focus and capability applied to the quality of the leadership conversation is probably my single biggest criticism of leaders.
Provide the conditions for the Exec to be great leaders – Clear expectations, regular feedback, review sessions and development plans.
Communicate regularly – The role, activities and outputs of the leadership team.
Seek and give constant constructive feedback – How else will people learn?
Find space for social time – Social interaction helps build relationships.
Invest in support for creating a high performing leadership team – You would for any other key driver of business performance.
Work with a coach – They will generate momentum and keep focus on the team See Working with a Great Leadership Coach.
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