When Is the Best Time to Work on Your Team?

Here’s a common refrain we frequently hear from CEOs and Boards: “We know this team is not performing optimally and would benefit from a tune-up or some team development—but we’re just not sure the time is right.” ?This begs the question—IS there a right time, a best time, or a bad time to invest in your senior most team?

We have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of senior leadership teams—including many in the C-suite—spanning the globe, business sectors, ownership structures, and organization sizes. Our work with senior teams usually spans months, sometimes years.? This has presented us with a privileged vantage point from which we see the impact leaders can have on business performance after investing energy, time, and space in team optimization. We’ve encountered everything from remarkable transformations to incremental tune-ups of teams that already function well to, unfortunately, some teams that didn’t achieve much traction.

Along the way, we’ve been struck by how many times we’re asked the question “When is the right time to start?” What is behind this question? Our experience suggests it’s usually one or more of the following:

• A desire and/or perceived need to make sure that all members and the structure of the team are “set” before digging in.
• Vacancies exist on the team and/or recruiting is underway to fill a key role; selection of new team members may be imminent—or not.
• The leader has questions about one or more team members & isn’t sure they’ll make it.
• Things are happening in the business right now and/or change is on the horizon (e.g., a key initiative, a strategic shift, a restructuring, etc.).

We’ve seen and tried it all and have come to the firm belief that the answer to the question of “when” is usually “now”. ?Of course, there’s often a logical reason to wait—to find a more “perfect” time—with the belief that things will be just a bit more settled somewhere over the horizon. While that may be so, there are almost ALWAYS more compelling reasons to start now.

• If there’s a vacancy or two and a hire is not imminent, starting with the existing team will provide a solid foundation to accelerate the effective integration of new team members once they are on board.
• Even if an offer is outstanding, waiting for the new person to be settled means a delay of at least several months; not to mention the fact that we’ve all been in situations where it takes longer than expected to fill a role, or worse, our ideal candidate walks away. The opportunity cost of waiting can be significant.
• If the leader has questions about team members, getting started on a team process provides an ideal “talent assessment center”—an opportunity to see how they show up and whether they rise to the occasion. Sometimes this yields very pleasant surprises, sometimes this confirms suspicions or hopes, and unfortunately sometimes this provides profound disappointments. All of these scenarios are “wins” because they create greater clarity, and from clarity comes the ability to take action.
• Frequently there’s real friction from the lack of alignment that is already having a material impact on company performance and the ability of the next level to perform effectively; every day of delay may make a tangible difference that ripples deeper and wider into the organization.?

There’s no need to overcomplicate things.

Taking initial steps with intention toward tuning up or optimizing how the team works together is always a sound investment in the performance of the business that will pay dividends.

With so many different approaches to “team building” or “team development” being espoused as “the” answer, what actually matters?

We’ve found that once you clear through the clutter, a few consistent themes emerge. There’s no single best framework, model, or methodology to address them. Why? Because it’s less about the model and more about creating a climate that fosters rich dialogue, through which the right questions are asked, the real answers are heard, and all elephants big and small are put on the table.

With that said, the following steps will yield impact:

1. ?ESTABLISH SHARED CONTEXT. This means first creating a shared understanding and alignment about the business context, internal and external forces, and strategic direction. From there, the best teams consider the implications—both collectively and individually. They discuss what they need to focus on, how they need to work together, and how each member needs to “show up” to play their part effectively.
2. ASSESS AND DIAGNOSE THE CURRENT STATE OF THE TEAM, considering both the mechanics (e.g., meeting cadence, decision making, governance, structure, etc.) and team dynamics (the quality of dialogue, the climate or vibe on the team, how conflict is addressed, etc.). This can take place via formal assessments or simply through dialogue. Discuss whether the current state of the team is “fit for purpose” for the evolving business context. Consider questions such as “if nothing changes, will this get us where we need to go?”
3. DETERMINE THE NECESSARY FUTURE STATE OF THE TEAM and how it should function at some point in the future (e.g., 6 months from now). Ask “if this team more fully reflects this future state, will it enable us to perform and lead more effectively?”
4. IDENTIFY SPECIFIC ACTIONS TO GET FROM HERE TO THERE. Identify the things the team can start, stop, or continue doing to move closer to the desired state. Be specific and identify “who” will do “what” by “when”.
5. CREATE ACCOUNTABILITY for following through. People do not do what is expected as much as they do what is inspected. Agree on how the team will assess progress, both in terms of follow-through on action items and how it feels to work together, what’s working, and where there’s a need to talk things through.

These steps are straightforward, but they’re not easy. They require commitment, energy, and some focused time. However, at the very least, the payoff is a shift that creates a solid foundation for senior team performance. If new members join the team, this will dramatically accelerate their effective integration. From this initial foundation, the leader can decide whether to continue investing energy toward building even stronger muscle, including developing practices, deepening interpersonal dynamics, and developing capabilities that enable sustained performance and business impact.

The lesson from experience is simple: the best teams don’t wait, and the outcome of taking action to focus on your team can have a material impact on all aspects of company performance and value creation.