Q: I am a new Chief Exec and I am appointing a new team to run my organisation. It is deemed to be failing. Give me some pointers.
Building a team
Like a football team full of stars that wins nothing, try to get away from appointing the most obvious candidate for a post. In a top team you need to marry driving forces who can run departmental areas with cohesive, collaborative and creative personalities who can work together to run the organisation.. In the sports analogy, your stars must be complemented by selfless runners. Too many forceful individuals can lose the sense that they must subordinate themselves to the Executive Team's needs in order to further the organisation's as well as their own careers.
I find Meredith Belbin's team roles an absolute must in developing the team you need for the circumstances in which you find yourself. His work is based on decades of research and I've never found it wanting.
It will help you analyse what you need and shape your selection processes.
Q : '' What should I be doing as the CEO of an SME to develop my senior staff ? ''
Leader as Coach
Part of your role is to educate and train the next generation. Try to avoid telling only part of a story to your team. Always put them in your own position, gathering and facing all the countervailing evidence; the personalities, power based conflicts, statistics, documentation, strategies, tactics or market trends. Make sure they know that they are able to sway outcomes if they are intelligent enough with their arguments. Summarise. Announce your decision. Minute their support.
Imperative:always ensure that they accept that, at their level in an organisation, they are committed to cabinet responsibility. Once a decision has been made, they are there to implement and defend it until further notice. Woe to any of them that counsels staff against the decisions of cabinet!