We’re counting down the things that only you, as a CEO, can do!
Your First Team (Senior Leadership Team) Doesn’t Work Well Together
A cohesive senior leadership team is crucial for your company’s success. If your team members are more focused on their individual departments than on the company’s overall success, it’s time to reevaluate your cadence and operating rhythm. In fact, only 38% of CEOs’ direct reports feel their First Team is focused on work that truly benefits from an executive perspective (McKinsey).
Ask yourself: Are you getting in the way of them functioning as a true leadership team?
Galvanizing your leaders is the second thing that only you can do!
Your First Team
The best CEOs know that having the right First Team is critical to a company’s success. Yet, many CEOs struggle with their First Team. The best CEOs focus on how the team works together rather than just what they do together. They obsess over solving the team’s psychological dynamics and let the mechanics of coordination and execution follow.
Great CEOs think systematically about their people—the roles they play, what they can achieve, and how the company should operate to increase everyone’s impact. Here are some things to consider if you don’t have a strong First Team:
- Staff the team with an eye toward both aptitude and attitude.
- Act quickly but fairly regarding those who don’t belong.
- Stay connected with the First Team while keeping some distance.
- Build a leadership coalition beyond just the First Team.
Remember, if you tolerate poor performance, you diminish your influence and credibility within the organization.
Teamwork Practice
The next step in galvanizing leaders is to focus on teamwork practice. Make the team the star! Ensure that the First Team is doing the work that only they can do!
Great CEOs build high-performing teams by clearly defining what it means to be a member of the First Team. They ensure the team tackles work that only they can handle, combining dialogue, data, and speed in decision-making, while regularly investing in team-building efforts. Only 35% of CEOs feel that the right amount of time is allocated to important topics with their First Team. The best CEOs ensure that only needle-moving work items make it onto the agenda.
Some examples of work that only the First Team can do include:
- Corporate strategy (priorities, targets, M&A)
- Large-scale resource allocation
- Identifying synergies and interdependencies across business units
- Validating decisions that significantly affect all employees
- Ensuring the company meets financial targets
- Providing direction for major company-wide projects
- Reinforcing the desired company culture (through individual and collective role modeling)
- Building the company’s leadership bench strength (including providing feedback to one another)
What shouldn’t you focus on? Individual functions or lines of business. For example, quarterly business performance reviews should be handled by a subset of leaders, such as the CEO, CFO, and CHRO.
Operating Rhythm
Your operating rhythm refers to the communication process between you, as the CEO, and your First Team. This rhythm is essential because it builds stability, trust, provides a reliable framework for decision-making, reinforces good habits, and creates a system for success!
The best CEOs focus on their operating rhythm to “connect the dots” for the organization, acting as an orchestra conductor amid day-to-day operations and ensuring disciplined execution.
Reed Hastings, former CEO of Netflix, believed that as an orchestrator, you need to build the decision-making muscles throughout the organization so that the CEO makes fewer decisions. His approach has always been about building muscle and teaching principles so he can do less, but with a long-lasting impact.
Final Thoughts
Your First Team is critical to your success. As CEO, only you can determine what matters. Make the bold moves necessary to ensure you have the best First Team, and that together, you’re working on the things only you can do to drive the company toward predictable, intentional growth.