BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Four Common Pitfalls Of Senior Leadership Teams And How To Solve Them

Forbes Coaches Council

Scott Brown coaches executives and executive teams in startups and high-growth companies around the world. Stone House Coaching.

The effectiveness of the senior leadership team impacts your whole organization; if the team isn’t functioning well as a unit, everyone suffers.

Typical Problems Of Senior Teams

Nothing impacts an organization as much as its leaders. The more effective the team at the top, the more likely the organization will succeed. Unfortunately, senior teams are often plagued by some predictable—and fixable—problems.

1. Ineffective Meetings

Ineffective meetings often top this list of issues. Meetings may ramble into oblivion, or perhaps there’s a lack of collaboration. Or maybe collaboration is emphasized to the point it inhibits decision-making. It’s a leader’s responsibility to ensure time spent together is productive, and that includes well-structured and disciplined meetings. They need to begin with a tight agenda that makes it clear why each person present is there. A good facilitator can open discussion, manage the conversation and help the team conclude on time with a decision and commitment to next steps.

2. Unclear Communication

Another bugaboo is a lack of clear communication practices. An environment where no one challenges anyone, or debate goes on forever, is ripe for communication indiscretions. Squash pre-meetings, post-meetings and side chats where alliances are formed and secret decisions are made.

Leadership teams thrive on open, honest communication. This means each team member should be confident they can challenge, debate and even argue with other members, and everyone will know the conflict is rooted in concern for the good of the organization. Team members are free to respectfully say what needs to be said, in the appropriate setting, rather than behind the scenes.

3. Poor Decision-Making Processes

I’ve worked with teams where decisions can never quite be put to rest. In many cases, this is driven by the mistaken idea that everyone needs to agree in order to move forward—so the team pounds away at holdouts, hoping they'll eventually give their blessing. In other cases, people are genuinely confused about whether a decision has been finalized—or even who owns the final decision.

Effective leadership teams have clear decision-making processes. Everyone knows who owns which decisions, who will be consulted and who will be informed afterward. Most importantly, it’s crystal clear when a decision has been made and what steps come next for implementation.

A seriously vexing symptom is failure to support a final decision. This rarely shows up as full-on opposition; rather, it often shows up in the way members talk about the decision: “Sales has decided to...” rather than “We are going to...” which makes it clear this is not the path they would have chosen. Strong teams execute decisions with unity; everyone on the team knows it’s their responsibility to support team decisions whether they agree or not. When you leave the meeting, debate stops, and you talk and act as if it were your idea.

4. Siloes

A siloed mentality also signals dysfunction. Leadership teams are, by definition, made up of people who lead different functions within the organization. It’s natural for those leaders to want to protect their areas and the people who work in them—though that doesn’t make it helpful. High-functioning leadership teams are committed to what Patrick Lencioni refers to as "Team Number One." They recognize the most important thing is the good of the whole organization, even if it's hard on the units they lead.

What Can You Do To Make It Better?

Start by developing a deeper understanding of why the team is operating as it is. Some of this can be done through observation and discussion. Sometimes, a team-based assessment can shed light on what issues are at the core. The leader of these leaders cannot be afraid to take a long, hard look at team dynamics and have difficult conversations. A good coach can certainly help facilitate this process, but the responsibility of forward momentum remains with the leader.

Once you’ve got a good idea of what’s going on, it’s time to fix it. Most of what works best is pretty simple, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy.

First and foremost, analyze all your team structures: meeting rhythms, agendas, communication methods, even who is on the team. Get rid of things that aren’t serving you and adopt new structures that will. Get commitment from each member of the team about how to behave going forward, and make it clear they are expected to honor those agreements.

Adjust And Reset

There is an old saying in the military: “No plan survives first contact with the enemy.” Your team’s new agreements will likely not survive the initial exposure to the harsh reality of daily work environments. The agreement to commit to Team Number One will be tested by a promise made to someone on a subordinate team. The agreement to speak openly and honestly will clash with old habits of avoiding hard conversations. A good leader will recognize when this happens and take action. Specifically, point to behavior that is not in alignment with the agreement, and ask the team whether they should set a new agreement or do a better job of living up to the existing one.

After an initial resetting of expectations, my recommendation is to have at least one meeting per month for the first six months that is focused solely on team dynamics. Again, a good coach can facilitate this process by acting as a neutral party to guide discussions and provide education on how to overcome hurdles. (Full disclosure: I work as an executive coach, but a coach is not necessary to complete this process.)

Recognize that your team can seem fine, especially in comparison to other teams you may have been a part of. That doesn’t mean your team can’t be better or that it isn’t held back by all-too-common forms of dysfunction. It’s a leader’s responsibility to create a culture of open communication, respect everyone’s time and keep an open mind about changing organizational commitments in order to keep them sustainable and relevant.


Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify?


Follow me on LinkedInCheck out my website