CEO Resources
Improving Leadership Team Performance
All Aboard
for 2010
Congratulations! You
weathered the economic storm of 2009 and kept your corporate ship afloat.
As the saying goes, a high tide floats all boats - it's when the water
levels go down the skipper is really tested. Last year was the
lowest tide in decades. Year end typically saw businesses holding
on to the company's remaining cash, running break-even budgets, feeling
hesitant over how much they had already lost and fearful of losing more.
But even if you did hit a few rocks and took on water you should be
proud. You made it. You passed a true test of leadership.
And now, the next test
is upon us.
This year, if you are
like most leaders, you have come to the stark realization that the wait-and-see
strategy will not carry the company long-term. Waiting for your customers
to recover and assuming all will go 'back to normal' is charting
a dangerous course. You are in business to make money. So,
you want to move your leaders past hesitancy and fear, and have them
stepping back into the innovation and buoyancy of 2008. One of
the most significant challenges you now face is how to inspire everyone
around you to change their perspective.
Some of your people
are still huddled below decks, afraid to open the hatch for fear of
capsizing. You want them to take a look around, feel the sunlight on
their faces again and smell the fresh air. But for them,
the promise of clear skies is tempered by the fear of further economic
storms. For the leader that sees the opportunity today, how do you get
the team to act?
Forging
a Strong Leadership Team
Whether you navigate a sailboat or
on ocean freighter, recognize that the captain and his crew are fallible
human beings. Leadership teams are made up of real people and
by nature, they can be charged with politics and personal agendas, and
sometimes confusion can be more the rule than the exception. It's
rare I meet a leader that questions the importance of teamwork.
Far more common is the leader who chooses not to work on improving the
team's function because they believe it is too difficult a journey
to undertake and the results are not measurable.
Forging a high performance
senior team is accomplished by using a best practice approach combined
with discipline and persistence. The first step is to understand
that there are five
dysfunctions to contend
with then, addressing those dysfunctions one at a time.
As a witness to countless change initiatives
in many businesses, one consistent 'truth' is that there is
no greater indicator of the potential for success than the strength
and attitude of the leadership and the management team.
Why
Bother With A Strong Team?
Perhaps you are now thinking, 'Show
me the numbers. I've got a bottom line to consider and we can't
take risks right now. We simply don't have time for this soft
stuff.' Consider:
- What portion of time was
spent discussing the most critical issues for the company in your last
management meeting?
- Of those critical issues
what was the value of the ones that were resolved?
- How many were left unresolved,
to talk about again?
These are questions that every single
team member should be able to answer off the top of their heads.
If yours can't, is it possible there are better ways to spend your
team's time? Are management meetings boring and unproductive
by nature? If so, why do the most successful companies hold meetings
at all? Is there evidence that a strong team will always outperform
a strong individual?
Cohesive management teams address the
most important issues quickly and decisively. The courses of action
they forge are higher in quality, simple to measure, and produce tangible
positive results. When these teams fail, it is due to deliberate
decision making, not analysis paralysis or procrastination. Most
importantly, they learn from their errors and do not repeat them. As
a result of this environment, companies with great management teams
experience an uptick in their ability to attract and retain the most
talented management staff available.
Invite your leaders to partake in this
15 minute Leadership Team Self Assessment and once completed,
submit it to MRSI. We will compile the feedback and provide you
a complementary assessment of next steps.
What's
Holding You Back?
Knowing what to do
is one part of the equation. Getting people to do it is the other.
Changing the attitudes, beliefs and actions of the employees in your
organization is no easy task but it is a task worth the investment.
To learn how other
business leaders are making meaningful advances in this area contact
Tara Landes at (604) 345-0424, or tlandes@mrsibenchmarking.com.
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Tara Landes is the
President of MRSI Benchmarking Inc., a full-service benchmarking and
change management firm committed to delivering lasting change in small
and medium-sized businesses across the United States and Canada. Researching
best practices from multiple industries, we take companies from where
they are now to where they want to be, so they may achieve their goals
and fully actualize their potential. Visit us on the web at www.mrsibenchmarking.com