“I’ve been doing it wrong”: How CEOs struggle to make their teams work

Aaron (alias), an automotive sector executive, recalls a great day last year when the board chair invited him to a special meeting of the Succession committee. He had been named the next CEO and would be taking over for his boss in a few short months.?

Now, with his first year as CEO nearly behind him, Aaron is discovering just how difficult it can be to get a group of star executives to work as a team.?

Starting in 2021 in the automotive sector meant that Aaron faced serious headwinds. The company had downsized, restructured, shifted market focus, realigned product portfolios, restructured again, and was in the process of settling into a newly remade organization.??

Change had taken a toll, and senior executives were steadfast, but gaps had begun to appear. A critical portfolio realignment effort had run into repeated resistance. Several groups were targeting Finance for creating burdensome processes when nimble contracting had been declared a key growth enabler. Product development teams were getting mixed signals from leadership, resulting in delayed releases and features that many believed were misaligned with customer priorities. The list went on.?

Aaron and I were exploring these challenges and their causes when he shared this: “As I look back, I don’t think I managed my team very well. I was focused on making decisions and I didn’t think about how my team might come out on the other side of them. And now, looking at how they are operating, I realize I’ve been doing it wrong.”?

I asked him to be more specific.??

“I have a tendency to step in too soon,” he said. He shared that in the heat of difficult moments, the C-suite becomes a cauldron of analysis and debate – often intense. The leaders around the table are extremely well-versed, passionate in their beliefs, and skilled in presenting their cases.??

Aaron recalled feeling frequent pressure to resolve impasses and move with speed. But, of course, there is never a path forward that satisfies every need, and this is no secret. Adjudicating disagreements goes with the CEO territory.??

But there’s a deeper layer to this. As I have said in previous posts, the cost of using power is greater with each step up the leadership ladder. This means that CEOs, most of all, must tread carefully not only in whether to intervene, but also how they move complex decision scenarios to closure.?

An often-overlooked reality is that moments of impasse are the greatest opportunities to build team unity. Many chief executives default to referee mode: Make a call. Declare a decision. Do it quickly. Move on. This is fine in day-to-day mode when less consequential decisions are at play. But when major strategic pivots are on the table, moving too abruptly can mean tampering with the passion, alignment, and trust among senior team members.??

Aaron recalled several emotionally charged instances in which he stepped into vigorous team debates to “give my answer,” as he put it. These moments felt satisfying to him because in his mind the answer was clear. He was simply accelerating the process. Now as he looks back, he realizes that he often leapt too soon.??

“We were doing more than just changing our strategy. We were asking some leaders to change their values.”

By that he didn’t mean personal values or morals. He meant their work values and priorities. Aaron’s abrupt judgments left the team clear about the decisions but unsettled by the decision process and unable to fully absorb the implications. Over time, that led to erosion in alignment and engagement.?

Since my conversations with Aaron, I’ve been asking other CEOs how they determine when to step in and make decisions, and how they manage the fallout when intervention is necessary. Here are some of their thoughts:?

1. To create teamwork, let your team work. Making decisions for your team can rob them of opportunities to “do the work.” Expect your team to get themselves to decision points, but don’t bail out on them. Stay close, listen, facilitate, and only intervene as a last resort.?
2. Don’t ask your team to debate decisions you’ve already made. Know the debates you’re willing to allow, and the ones you won’t allow. If you find yourself making impassioned speeches or arguing publicly with members of your team, you may need to reflect on whether the decision has already been made in your mind.??
3. Do 10 times more listening than explaining. It’s okay for the CEO to have a point of view but be careful with it. The more you work to make a case, the more you cause others to hold theirs back. Far better to ask for others’ ideas before declaring yours. This can be monumentally difficult, so aim high.
4. Bring the most difficult questions to the surface. If there is an elephant in the room, don’t allow it to go unrecognized. These can be sensitive. If they become specific to one person or a very small group, see the next suggestion.?
5. Process the most sensitive dilemmas offline. Team dysfunction can often be traced to the concerns of one person or group that no one wants to upset. Taking time offline to process those issues and mitigate challenges separately can lead to far more candid and efficient team dialogue and action.?

When it comes to team effectiveness, decision making is a form of currency. As CEO, be cautious not to hoard it. Invest shrewdly by facilitating your team to make decisions on their own. There will undoubtedly be moments when you must step in and make deciding judgments, but if done with healthy doses of self-restraint and respect, you’ll find that your team’s strength, shared trust, independence, and performance grow in ways that free you up to focus on the future.?

I hope this month finds your future bright, and your team healthy and growing. Please share your thoughts with us. We so value them.?

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