Developing Your Executive Team
Don't leave it to chance
How do most CEOs go about developing their executive team? They don’t. They assume that the passage of time and the challenges the team is forced to tackle will do the job. When a member of the team becomes a problem, the issue is located in that individual rather than the team as whole; remove that person, and the team will thrive. Members of the team also assume that unless there is some kind of major failure, just continuing to work together is enough to lay the groundwork for tackling whatever opportunities or threats the future may hold. It’s a bad assumption.
With the kinds of changes that are taking place in our world due to technology, globalization, shifting politics and competition, no team can be fully prepared for what is coming. That doesn’t mean that the team won’t succeed in coping with events, but the odds of success are less than one hundred percent. How much less is something you can’t know until the moment arrives. To use a metaphor, it’s like what happens in the movies when a well-trained army meets aliens who attack them with superior weapons. The battle is over in a few moments, and humankind is left scurrying for survival.
It’s not likely that aliens will attack your organization anytime soon, but it’s guaranteed that you will face changes that you aren’t expecting. That’s when teamwork at the top matters. If you’re betting that the attack will bring the team together, don’t count on it. Collaborative resilience is something you develop over time, not in the heat of the moment.
If you leave development to chance, hoping that it will occur naturally with the passage of time and the experience gained from confronting challenges together, you will not be prepared when the moment of truth arrives. While the passage of time does result in greater familiarity among members and an increase in knowledge as difficulties are encountered and overcome, there’s nothing about the past that predicts the future. What’s more, “natural team development” can weaken a team rather than strengthen it. Here’s why.
As teams work together, members are each experiencing a different reality. While the team may succeed overall, individual members may experience differential gains in their political standing within the team. Some members gain ground in that they were responsible for coming up with the solution to the problem or given credit for taking the steps necessary to realign the organization with the new strategy. Other members may feel that they have lost influence as a result. This shift in influence is reinforced if a pattern develops in which the CEO continues to turn to the same people when the next crisis or opportunity arises. These dynamics may trigger internal politics within the team, the result of which can be members failing to support one another rather than doing what is best for the team and organization overall.
Moreover, with the passage of time, members develop both good and bad relationships with other team members. This is a natural by-product of ideas being put forth and supported in some cases but not supported in others. In the flow of things, this doesn’t seem like a shootout at the OK Corral but the effects are definitely felt. As a member, I recall who supported my ideas and who didn’t. Whether or not my ideas were worth supporting is another thing altogether; what I recall was the public humiliation of having my suggestion dropped and the team not coming to my aid. “Death by a thousand cuts” happens to people, even though everyone understands that the goal is to debate issues until the best possible solution is identified.
The good and bad relationships that develop naturally over time are like cracks in the surface of ice on a lake. If the ice is covered over by a layer of snow, akin to the polite and professional postures group members take toward one another during regular team meetings, the cracks are invisible and support the weight of the team during normal operations. Increase the load on the ice however, as in a crisis, and things can suddenly break apart just when teamwork is needed the most.
If you believe the passage of time is enough to eliminate the cracks, you are mistaken. Typically, the opposite occurs. Relationships that are bad don’t magically become better. People avoid conflicts rather than leaning into them. Reflect on this: when is the last time someone on the team suggested that the team discuss the state of relationships among its members? The avoidance of this topic is a sign that the ice isn’t safe to walk on.
What makes team development even harder is that it is an emotionally charged process that, if not conducted properly, can deepen the cracks between people rather than strengthening them. The fear of something going wrong and making matters worse is one reason that leaders avoid team development work altogether.
Avoiding a problem doesn’t solve it. It just means accepting the risk that when the team is attacked by aliens, it will know how to fight back. Good luck with that.
A preferable strategy is to make team development an ongoing component of the team’s work. Periodic or once in a lifetime team development activities allow cracks in the ice to develop that are not addressed when they are small. They grow in size with the passage of time and become harder to repair. Revealing that you have been harboring bad feelings toward other members of the team without speaking to them directly sounds cowardly and embarrassing. Being forced to put them on the table during a poorly conceived team development process can lead to deep resentment and destroy any hope that things can improve.
Instead, if the leader is aware that cracks in the ice are always developing, he or she can speak to the fact that we are all human and that being concerned about acceptance, influence, and support from others are concerns we all share. The goal of team development is to lift every member of the team up, not to privilege some over others. The more that goal is accomplished, the greater the likelihood that when the team needs the very best each member can contribute, they are there for each other.
Fighting aliens isn’t easy. You don’t want to do it standing on thin ice.