Why is it that we expect amazing results from a team of some great and some mediocre people? As leaders (and as the CEO, THE leader), this just does not make sense. Why do we expect these amazing results when we know deep down that with the team we have, it is just not realistic? 

I think it’s because we know that fixing the people is harder than fixing the problems with the systems, the strategy and cash. So, we focus on the problems we can solve rather than the problems we can’t. It is just human nature to focus on the things we think we can fix. I want to challenge that thinking, if we don’t fix the team, we might as well not bother fixing anything else!

In my past decade as a business coach, I don’t think that I have ever worked with a leadership team where there has not been significant change in the leadership team BEFORE the business started their fast-growth journey. After all, at some point the CEO decided they needed a coach, and they knew they needed a coach because they recognised that it would be easier and faster with a coach. That doesn’t mean that the CEO and the Leadership Team won’t have to make some tough decisions along the way. Most CEOs can sort of fix challenges with execution and (with a good CFO) get cash working OK, but what is really hard is getting the team right. 

Early on in a client engagement I ask the question -

“Is the Leadership Team cohesive and aligned?”.  

Now if the leadership team is not cohesive and aligned then there is almost zero chance that the rest of the business will be cohesive and aligned. As the saying goes “As goes the leader, so goes the team.”. We must start with the leadership team as you can’t build a cohesive people business from the bottom up, it has to be from the top down. 

One of the first tasks I give to my new CEO clients after we kick off our engagement is to assess their own leadership team, how are they each performing? Are they living and breathing the company culture and values most of the time and are they exceeding performance expectations?

This Leadership Team Assessment is the first part of the process. It is a simple tool where the CEO assesses each of their leadership team against two dimensions, Cultural Alignment and Performance. This gives us an assessment of who on the leadership team is an A-Player and who is not. By the way, this is my definition of an A-Player - someone who lives the company culture and values most of the time and regularly exceeds performance expectations.

From there we need to build plans for each member of the leadership team. For those that are high performers and show alignment with the company culture, our plan needs to show how we retain and reward them over time. For those whose performance meets expectations and are generally aligned to the company culture then we need a plan to develop them. 

For the rest of the team, we need to have some serious discussions and at the appropriate time fill their seats with others who are more able to meet the needs of a growing, cohesive and aligned business. This isn’t always easy, but it is nearly always better to “rip off the band aid” early rather than to suffer the pain of a long disengagement.

As we move into our engagement, we work on team cohesion through a series of intentional questions and exercises that over time build team cohesion. These questions sometimes come across as a little inane but there is an intent behind each one. Often, leadership team members don’t realise that we are working on team cohesion but over time, they will start to see the impact. Conversations become clearer, with clarity of expectation. They don’t have to repeat themselves again and again as the team starts to engage in debate rather than argument. They become passionate in their discussions and these discussions start to come from the perspective of the “good of the team and the company” rather than from the perspective of the individual or department. This can be a subtle change, but you will recognise it when you see it.

Want to see how you can build a high performing company by first building a high performing leadership team, get in touch ged@crystalyzer.com or call me on +61 415 534239.