Building a cohesive and effective executive leadership team is critical for organizational success. But it doesn’t happen by chance – it requires intentional efforts to assemble the right group of leaders and actively promote alignment, collaboration, and clarity of roles. Following key strategies will help you create a high-performing executive team.
Assemble a Diverse Team
When building an executive leadership team, it’s important to bring together leaders with diverse backgrounds, experiences, and skill sets. This diversity of perspectives leads to more thoughtful decision-making and innovative ideas. Your executive team should have a mix of leaders who bring different functional expertise – like marketing, operations, finance, technology, etc. It’s also beneficial to have gender, age, and ethnic diversity at the senior leadership level. Aim to build a team with complementary strengths.
Look for Leaders with Critical Skills
In addition to functional expertise, make sure your executives have strengths in key areas like strategic thinking, communication, collaboration, and change management. Your team needs visionary big-picture thinkers who can set the right strategic direction. Communication skills are critical so they can connect with employees, convey the company vision, and represent the brand effectively. Collaboration skills enable productive team dynamics. And in today’s business environment, the ability to lead change is more important than ever. Prioritize these critical leadership skills as you build your team.
Promote Cross-Functional Collaboration
Silo mentality can be a big issue with executive teams. Functional leaders might get overly focused on their own area and lose sight of the big picture. Actively cultivate cross-functional collaboration on your team. Institute regular touchpoints for executives to update their peers about what’s going on in their department. Encourage open dialogue and sharing of ideas across functions. Build relationships through team building activities. Collaboration will lead to more informed decisions and unified strategic alignment.
Align on Vision and Values
Your executive team must be fully aligned around the company’s vision, mission, and values. Carve out dedicated time at an off-site retreat to discuss the future vision and strategic priorities. Ensure everyone understands and buys into the big picture direction. Closely review your values and what they mean for leadership behavior. There should be shared assumptions about the desired culture. Discuss how you make decisions and resolve differences. Developing this kind of alignment upfront prevents dysfunction down the road.
Define Clear Roles and Responsibilities
While collaboration is crucial, each executive needs clearly defined responsibilities and authority. Confusion over roles leads to tension, redundancy, and gaps. Work with your team to develop RACI matrices that outline who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted, and Informed for important business functions and decisions. Discuss mandates and decision rights. Update job descriptions and charter documents as needed. Clear roles and responsibilities empower leaders and optimize productivity.
Conduct Regular Business Reviews
Schedule quarterly or monthly business reviews with your full executive team. These meetings allow for transparent sharing of what’s working well and what’s not. Leaders can provide updates on key projects, metrics, and risks. Collectively identify and problem-solve around issues that cut across multiple functions. Use these reviews to hold each other accountable to commitments. Regular reviews keep all executives informed and aligned.
The Value of Executive Coaching
Consider executive coaching to support executive team development. One-on-one coaching helps leaders gain self-awareness, expand their capabilities, and overcome blindspots. Coaching enables executives to become more effective managers and strategic thinkers. Investing in customized coaching maximizes the strengths of each executive.
Building a strong executive leadership team takes time and conscious effort. Utilize these strategies and your team can perform to the best of their abilities.