Ruth Wageman’s book is the only one I’ve come across that addresses leading teams of leaders and the unique challenges of assembling and working with the company’s most senior team. Over the course of a ten year study of such teams around the globe the authors found only 25% were outstanding based on performance and increased capability over time. Senior Leadership Teams presents a model and real examples to illustrate what differentiates that 25% from the rest.
Would you be surprised to learn that most team members do not agree on simple “facts” such as the number of members on the team and who they are? That’s exactly what the authors discovered. They also found that in outstanding teams the leader makes intentional and thoughtful decisions about the kind of team he/she needs. Is it a decision making group, an advisory council, an idea generating and problem solving group? Might multiple teams be a best solution to the range and complexity of issues to be addressesd? Who is on the team? Many leaders assume the senior team needs to include all their direct reports. This criteria does not hold true for outstanding senior leadership teams. The leader initially decides on the work of the team and sets in motion some of the group’s operating norms. What issues will they tackle? Will the leader always lead or will that role fall to the person responsible for the issue at hand?
The role of the CEO in developing this team of leaders as individuals and as a team is critical. One of the single most important qualities of each and all members is the ability to take perspective outside their silo and on behalf of the entire business. Along with the CEO outside experts play a critical role in developing and coaching the team.
What do most CEOs experience as the biggest challenge? Making changes in the team’s membership, regardless of the reason. It may be the team does not function well as currently constituted. Perhaps times have changed, the company faces different challenges and the team that worked well yesterday is not the team that will move the organization forward. Maybe the team has grown too large and unwieldy or perhaps one or two dysfunctional members disrupt the team’s work. Whatever the reason, the CEO will be challenged to make changes. There are solutions that ease the difficulty.
This is a book I keep by my desk and use often when called to help develop the senior team. In a recent case the team had grown to thirteen members and there was no clear commonly understood purpose other than, “The CEO likes to see us all together at least twice a month.” Following an assessment of the situation, in which everyone agreed to the need for change, the CEO used the strategic plan as the basis for constituting a new team, whittling the group down to 5 members, with a clear purpose of setting and achieving strategic goals. The group of thirteen continued to meet once a month for the purposes of communicating key messages up and down the organization.
To view this book on Amazon click the link under the book image on the right hand column (3rd from the top.)