While on the surface a group of executives can technically be called a team if they work together, for Justin Peckett the term really encompasses a lot more than this.
Drawing from his experience as a corporate facilitator at Leading Teams, Peckett said that a true leadership team needed three key traits to boost performance:
- High expectations
- High accountability
- High-demand leadership
“Most functional executive teams demonstrate facets of these traits,” he said. “It is only when these qualities are manifested at an outstanding level that the executive team become role models for the expected behaviours within the organisation.”
For starters, those on the executive team should begin with self-reflection and review collective and individual performance as an initial health check, Peckett said.
This includes defining their collective purpose, the team ‘trademark’ and any agreed behaviours.
“A clear mandate on a shared purpose and interdependencies will prompt teamwork. Accepting differences and diversity is encouraged and should not hinder the process,” he said.
“It is crucial that every member knows what the team stands for and is aligned in terms of their framework and code of conduct.”
Once the guiding principles have been laid out, the team will be able to make decisions and choices aligned with expectations of both individual and group behaviour.
“With a coordinated and structured action plan, alongside metrics to determine buy-in, progress can be measured and evaluated over a period of time and an environment for genuine conversations is created.”
Additionally by recognising the framework through which the team will be measured, this permits higher levels of accountability as well, he said.
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