After years of working with businesses of all types and sizes, I’ve learned (the hard way, in some cases) that senior team effectiveness is often the limiting factor that prevents a company from consistently achieving superior results. Hence, Glen’s Law:
“No Business Can Outperform Its Leadership Team Long-Term.”
In other words, senior team effectiveness is fundamental to business success. But effective at what?
In my experience, leadership teams often lose sight of their real purpose. Sure, information needs to be exchanged between functional heads, high potential employees must be discussed, financial results must be reviewed, etc.
Creating Organizational Clarity
But the primary job of a senior leadership team, in my opinion, is to create and maintain organizational clarity – the alignment of strategy, leadership, culture, and execution.
Think about it. What’s more important than:
- articulating a business strategy that guides the company to its desired future state;
- ensuring that every leader “is on the same page” vis-à-vis that strategy so that the right decisions are made and the right employee behaviors reinforced;
- reinforcing cultural norms such that every team member understands where the business is headed and what role they play in that journey; and
- making sure that strategies and associated action plans actually get implemented.
If an effective leadership team stays focused on those four primary responsibilities, they will achieve a level of organizational clarity that almost guarantees business success. Try it!