I recently caught up with a C-Suite client of mine, who reminded me that even at the highest levels, working together is not always easy and that if the team doesn’t put deliberate steps in place to ensure their team’s dynamics are working for them, then they can waste a lot of time, and create a culture of order takers instead of order makers.
For the sake of the story, let’s call this executive Shannon. Shannon works at an organisation with ~600 employees and turns over >$500 million in revenue p.a.
One of Shannon’s areas of focus for this year is to influence his peers to lift their level of discussion and focus more on the bigger picture. By peers, I mean the executive team Shannon is part of.
Shannon felt the group spends too much time fixing problems that the people reporting to them could manage, and the leadership team weighed in and challenged the next leadership level on initiatives far too often on details that didn’t matter. This level of thinking and talking left Shannon and the executive team with less time to work individually and collectively on more prominent ticket items and more strategic and influential work.
Just last month, Shannon got his chance to start influencing. His CEO asked the team to share their hopes and dreams for the year at a monthly executive meeting. This was the perfect opportunity for Shannon to share his aspirations for the team. As Shannon explained his view, there was some sort of nodding among the group. Other opinions were shared, too.
Shortly after this discussion, two members representing the next layer of leadership joined the executive group. They presented an update on an initiative driven by the pair and 20 of their peers. The duo outlined their objectives and their plan. During their presentation, a couple of the executives challenged the presenters.
“Why would you take that approach?”
“How do you know this will work?”
Upon hearing this, Shannon jumped in. He couldn’t hold back.
“Hold on. I can't get past this. These guys put their hands up to do some work. They've defined what success looks like, And here are the actions they will take. I say, well done, off you go.
“What do you need from us? Nothing? OK, if you require us to do something, just let us know.
But beyond that, I'm not interested in critiquing it. You've done what you said you would do; keep going.”
After the two presenters left the room, there was some debate about the level of detail the group needed to get into.
“If we don't think that what they’ve put forward is going to lift the bar, we need to tell them”, suggested an executive.
“No, that's their job. We need to let them try and learn whether it works or not,” suggested another.
The debate was out of the ordinary. Whilst the team treated each other respectfully, they weren’t used to that next level of discussion. Shannon’s comments challenged the group to consider their role as the most senior leadership group in the business.
This brings up an interesting dilemma for senior leadership teams.
- How does your leadership team work with the level of leadership below them? Do you let the up-and-coming leaders learn by doing, or do you question their approach because you have a different opinion? Remember, intellectual humility can go a long way.
- What is your leadership group happy to let people learn by doing? When does it make sense to get into the details?
More specifically to how your senior leadership team works as a team (not as a leader of their function, but as part of your leadership team):
- As Brene Brown suggests, time is the “greatest non-renewable resource. There's nothing worse than a meeting that doesn't add value or serve the work”. How does your team ensure that your time spent together is given the utmost respect and that the things you discuss drive the most value for everyone?
- How often does your leadership team discuss what they should and should not discuss when meeting as a group?
- What does your team do intentionally to improve how they do teamwork?
- What’s in it for you - be it results, your leadership approach, your energy levels, your enjoyment of your job- if your team did together, better?
As a side note, after the meeting, Shannon’s CEO asked him to stay back and asked Shannon if he had the sh!ts. Not known for usually calling out behaviours within the team, the CEO thought Shannon might be upset about something. Shannon was surprised - that was not his intent.
“No, I don’t have the sh!ts. It’s just that we need to lift. We can be better, and we need to be. If I’ve given the impression, I’ve got the sh!ts, I apologise, and I’ll keep an eye out for that in the future.”
As a CEO, how would you feel about having a senior team member who wants the team to be better, thinks bigger, does not accept mediocrity, and is simultaneously happy to apologise if their behaviours give the wrong impression?
And the last and most important question
What’s one thing you could share with your team like Shannon did that could create a different level of thinking at your next leadership team meeting?
Adrian Baillargeon is a conference speaker, leadership team performance specialist and author of Teams that Swear (About Each Other, Not About Each Other). His talks and workshops spark leaders and their teams to think differently, say things sooner and enjoy their work, all in the name of winning the games that matter most to them. He recently released a new, free team dynamics assessment called the Teams That Swear Team Dynamics Assessment.
