Seven Insights from the Top

Despite the Differences, the Similarities Are Remarkable

In the last two weeks, I’ve facilitated six Executive Team workshops and two forums for over 20 Chief Executives. These leaders span various sectors—from manufacturing, defence and insurance to human services, education and government. Despite the differences in their fields, the similarities in their challenges are striking. Across every conversation, the same seven themes surfaced time and again:

Create Clarity in Uncertainty: Executives are wrestling with how to provide direction when the future is complex and unpredictable. The top leaders are crafting clear narratives even when the path ahead isn’t linear. Those narratives share "main intent" and explain what's known, what's not and how the leaders and enterprise intend to approach this challenge. In uncertain times a narrative is essential as an anchor point for the team, and to capture the hearts and minds of the wider leadership cohort and the whole workforce.

Be An Effective Team Without the CE: A strong Executive Team doesn't rely on the Chief Executive to function effectively. When executive leaders operate as a team without the CE they get more done, and they empower the Chief Executive instead of dragging them into operational issues. Expect more of this across all organisations.

A New Leadership Toolkit: Many traditional leadership approaches have quickly become obsolete in today’s adaptive and complex world. A modern leadership toolkit equips leaders with the mindset and skills they need to act with agility, strategic sensitivity, and rapid impact in turbulent conditions. That's why the book and associated resources from Toolkit for Turbulence are so handy to provide immediately practical tools for leaders and teams.

Vulnerability as Strength: Vulnerability is no longer seen as a weakness (except by leaders who the world is passing by). It’s an essential strength that fosters genuine interpersonal connections and builds trust. Leaders who are willing to say, “I don’t have all the answers” create environments where collaborative problem solving and innovation thrives.

Disciplined Cadence: The pace of business is unrelenting, and leaders want speed without sacrificing discipline. It’s about making quick decisions but staying grounded in strategy. That requires discipline or what the military call "battle rhythm". Every team our Think One Team Facilitators are working with know the power of disciplined cadence to align, collaborate and learn at the speed of relevance.

Partnering Across Boundaries: Partnering is more than just collaboration—it’s the new critical capability that differentiates high-performing leadership teams. Executive leaders must accept accountability for the quality of their partnering relationships with peers - this is no longer a 'nice to have'. If an executive leader cannot build and sustain those relationships, then the impact on the organisation inevitably shows up in silos, disconnects and sub-standard execution of strategy.

Collective Accountability & Psych Safety: These two elements are inextricably linked. You can’t drive accountability without creating a safe space where people can speak up and take risks. The ability to work as one team within the Executive Team and across the leadership cohort is all about creating that environment of psychological safety and collective accountability.

Resources to Support These Insights

These insights reflect the realities of today’s leadership landscape, and they’re a central focus of both my recent books Think One Team (3rd edition) and Toolkit for Turbulence (co-authored with Martin Bean CBE).

The message is clear: The top teams are evolving how they lead and partner together in a world that’s anything but stable. That's one thing that's unlikely to change for some time!