Building a Strong Team and a Connected Culture to Win
Helping a company find its “center,” stay focused, and drive forward is the work of leadership. Tough yes, but it also can be very rewarding. Regardless of company size, every CEO must count on their leadership team to extend the vision, strategy, and direction of the business to all employees, creating a connected culture to drive shared success across the organization and all job functions.??
As such, the makeup of a leadership team is critical. According to research conducted by Development Dimensions International (DDI), Ernst and Young, and The Conference Board involving 28,000 leaders and HR execs, only 14% of CEOs have the leadership team they feel they need to grow their companies. This is a huge problem, one which impacts company culture, employee careers, and the future of the business.??
Let’s solve this problem by formulating a strong leadership team and give due consideration to how that team will set the tone for the business, helping to foster a winning spirit built on the shoulders of a strong culture. It’s an issue very much top of mind for those in the CEO role, and particularly those who are taking on new executive leadership positions. This is personal for me because it’s exactly what was on my mind when I first considered taking on the CEO role — my first CEO role by the way — at LogicMonitor.? I want to share some of my lessons learned and strategies I employed when I took on the task of building a team of leaders who would inspire and empower our people at every level of the organization.????
The first lesson for leadership and culture comes from vision: I had to consider where I wanted to take the business and use that strategy to help shape the criteria for how to assemble a great team. An effective leadership team will be diverse in a myriad of ways including race, gender, professional experience, and of course ways of thinking.??
At the same time, a strong leadership team is one that shares a common vision and strategy for the company. Individuals — executives in this case — have their own goals and imperatives that have led them throughout their professional journeys and should expect the same from their extended teams. Employees can sense when leaders are not aligned just as much as they can get behind a team of leaders who are clearly pointed in the same direction.??
At LogicMonitor, I have a strong vision for the company built on performance culture and getting the business serious about customer success.? To make that happen requires accountability at all levels of the organization — and the example set from the very top.? As such, I wanted leaders who could both embody accountability while driving a culture of performance.? Those two business imperatives were the foundation of my criteria in candidate search. Which leads to my second lesson learned: don’t hesitate to review previous roles and pull forward great people who you know already embody and share your vision for the business. Taking a step back before launching into a proactive candidate search to raise up and empower previously successful teammates into new roles can grow both careers and the business.?
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Third, challenge the status quo on job roles. If you believe in building a performance culture — one where employees can flourish and win together — why hire a chief human resources officer? Reshape the role to one that literally speaks to your strategy. In my case at LogicMonitor, I re-imagined the role of the CHRO as a Chief Performance Officer, a new approach that is at the intersection of people performance and business growth. Examine your organization and look beyond traditional roles. Consider how you can re-think roles at all levels to shape an organization that embodies the strategy and vision needed for the business to thrive and grow.??
My fourth lesson learned is to consider candidates with unique experiences outside the “expected” targets. For example, I recently appointed our new CIO. Typically, a tech company would be expected to choose a CIO from another software or tech business. With my vision of building a customer success organization, I chose a CIO steeped in the experience of transforming IT not inside tech but rather at companies also focused on customer service and success. I even reached into the industrial space, where companies are very focused on resilience to meet nearly any challenge, thereby getting a CIO to bring that spirit of industrial readiness to LogicMonitor and our customers. This can be done with hires at all levels – find people aligned with strategy and culture and you’ll not only be building your own team, you will be building a stronger organization overall.??
This is what we mean by a connected culture — one where the front-line worker, salesperson in the field, and/or receptionist in the office understands and “feels” the imperatives of performance and accountability — they see it in their direct supervisors and how their own local teams are managed, and they observe it all the way up to the executive leadership team. Assuring that your leadership team sets the right example from the top. That means, if you tell your employees the company is committed to being a performance and customer-centric business, your leaders must demonstrate that to their teams every day, every week, and all year long. And then, assure that leaders drive the imperatives of performance and accountability with their own direct reports, and further cascade it down the organization out to the edge.???
Every company is different, and so is every CEO. What doesn’t change is the need for a strong and aligned organizational culture to carry forward the CEO’s strategy and vision. As you consider how to choose your direct reports, set a vision, and drive a connected culture at your own company, let me know if my “lessons learned” help you create an executive team built for success or share how you are building your own.?
really interesting and insightful read CK. It always starts with the people.
Engineering Director at LogicMonitor
2 年Great article, Christina!
Chief Revenue Officer (CRO), CEO & Board Member | Coach, Playmaker & Leader
2 年I agree. Our culture is our strength