Business Leadership Development: Building a High-Performing Team
Building a high-performing leadership team is crucial for the success and sustainability of any organization.
A high-performing team means better decisions, higher productivity, greater success in achieving strategic goals, and a business that consistently delivers outstanding results even in the face of changing circumstances and various business challenges.
And in fact, when it comes to the leadership team, 90% of investors consider the quality of the leadership team the most important non-financial factor when evaluating an IPO.
For CEOs, investing in executive team development is a priority.
This article will explore elements of business leadership development like team composition and dynamics, leadership coaching, talent acquisition, and performance management and provide actionable insights on building high-performing top teams.
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Team Composition
The most important contributor to the performance of leadership teams is who is on the team. The best-performing leadership teams have the right people, which seems obvious but can often be difficult to achieve.
To place the right people on the leadership team, CEOs usually have to overcome a range of obstacles.
High-Performing Teams Have Team Players
When picking a team, it’s natural to go for the best-performing individuals. Unfortunately, a collection of high-performing individuals doesn’t always translate into a high-performing team.
Some high-performing individuals lack the ability to be effective team players, a negative behavior that can outweigh the benefits the team gets from the individual and significantly degrade team performance.
To have high-performing teams, CEOs need to make the hard decisions of leaving out stars who aren’t team players.
Membership in High-Performing Teams Is Determined By Value
Another trap CEOs fall into when deciding the membership of leadership teams is being overly inclusive and allowing more people into the team than it needs.
This is often done to avoid conflict but can be counter-productive. The goal of a leadership team is better, faster decisions, which becomes difficult to attain when you have too many members who don’t add unique value to the team.
Another aspect of the value a member brings to a team is performance. It’s possible that a team member once performed well but now doesn’t meet the team's standards. When this happens, the CEO should be able to make the tough but imperative call to drop that member from the team.
Team Dynamics
It’s essential for CEOs to note that the work doesn’t stop once you have the right members of the leadership team in place. With the right composition, you have a strong foundation. However, intentional effort is necessary to get the team dynamics right, and this is a critical part of business leadership development.
High-Performing Teams Are Aligned in Direction
Alignment among team members is critical if a team is to perform well.
This starts with a shared vision and purpose. The goals of the team should be clear to everyone on it. Assuming that everyone is on the same page is a classic mistake. It’s important to take time to discuss and harmonize the team’s purpose and vision.
High-Performing Teams Have High-Quality Interaction – Including Conflict
It’s essential for teams to build the right culture if they are to thrive. For example, the team environment should be psychologically safe, which brings advantages such as:
- Team members can disagree openly and raise concerns, leading to better decisions
- Team members can give each other feedback, leading to better individual performance and overall team success
- Team members can share creative ideas without the fear of being judged or stepping on toes, which enhances innovation
In a high-performing team, conflict happens when necessary, unlike in poor-performing teams where conflict is avoided. Also, conflicts are resolved and often result in gains for the team. For example, a conflict could shed light on the overlap of roles and result in changes to role structure without degrading the relationship between team members.
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Executive Team Development
Developing an executive team requires continuous effort in various aspects, the most important of which are described below. Even if you hire the most sophisticated professionals - you must continue investing in their growth.
Leadership Coaching
Leadership coaching is a powerful tool to enhance the skills and effectiveness of individuals within a team and can help with succession planning. It helps unlock leadership potential, including improved decision-making and the ability to lead with confidence.
The benefits of implementing leadership coaching within an organization include:
- Personal development: Coaches provide personalized feedback and strategies to help leaders overcome challenges and leverage their strengths.
- Improved communication: Coaching enhances leaders' communication skills, fostering better interactions within the team and with other stakeholders.
- Increased accountability: Coaches hold leaders accountable for their actions, driving them to achieve their goals and improve their performance.
To implement leadership coaching, first assess the specific needs of your leaders and the areas where they require development. Then make sure to choose the right coach for the specific leader. Select coaches with relevant experience and a proven track record. They should align with your company’s values and culture. As with anything, it’s important to set clear objectives and establish clear goals for the coaching program. Define what success looks like and how it will be measured and make sure both the team member and the coach are on board. Finally, it’s important to monitor progress throughout. Regularly review the progress of the coaching sessions and adjust the approach as needed to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved.
Talent Acquisition
Building a high-performing leadership team sometimes means making new hires. Talent acquisition should focus on attracting individuals who not only possess the necessary skills but also fit the company’s culture and values.
The following talent acquisition tips can help:
- Clearly define job requirements: Ensure job descriptions are detailed and accurately reflect the skills and experience needed. This clarity attracts the right candidates.
- Utilize diverse recruitment channels: Use a mix of recruitment channels, including job boards, social media, professional networks, and employee referrals, to reach a broad pool of candidates.
- Implement rigorous selection processes: Use structured interviews, assessments, and background checks to evaluate candidates thoroughly. Behavioral interviews and psychometric tests can provide deeper insights into candidates' potential and fit.
- Focus on cultural fit: Assess how well candidates align with the company’s culture. A good cultural fit ensures better integration and long-term success.
Fostering Collaboration
Collaboration is the backbone of a high-performing leadership team. When leaders work together effectively, they can drive innovation and solve complex problems more efficiently.
Collaboration happens when you set the right work culture. Encourage a culture of open communication, trust, and mutual respect. Promote a team-oriented mindset where collective success is valued over individual achievements. Additionally, technology can take your team a long way. Collaboration tools and platforms can facilitate communication and project management. Tools like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Asana can streamline workflows and enhance collaboration.
While leveraging technology is important, don’t underestimate the value of face to face interaction. Team-building activities can improve rapport and strengthen relationships among team members. Retreats, workshops, and social events can enhance team cohesion. Broadening the scope of team-building activities cross-departments or cross-company has even more value, because it facilitates wider collaboration to enhance cross-functional team work, which can be invaluable when tackling specific projects or challenges. The cross-functional team approach brings diverse perspectives and expertise to the table, fostering innovative solutions.
Performance Management
Finally, effective performance management ensures that the leadership team is continuously improving and achieving its goals. It involves setting clear expectations, providing regular feedback, and recognizing achievements.
Here are some performance management tips:
- Set clear objectives: Establish SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals for each leader. Clear objectives provide direction and a basis for performance evaluation.
- Regular performance reviews: Conduct regular performance reviews to assess progress and provide constructive feedback. Quarterly or bi-annual reviews can keep leaders on track and address issues promptly.
- Reward and recognize: Acknowledge and reward leaders for their achievements to motivate and retain top talent. Recognition programs, bonuses, and promotions can incentivize high performance.
- Continuous feedback loop: Encourage a culture of continuous feedback where leaders can receive and give feedback regularly. This ongoing dialogue helps in promptly addressing issues and reinforcing positive behaviors.
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