Why To Think of Your Executive Team as a Sweep-Rowing Team

A professional rowing team starts their days early and in unison. Waking up at dawn and sweating through a workout before heading out onto the chilly river. They sit in perfect symmetry, each holding one oar with both hands.

When they begin rowing, they must sync themselves to the pace set by the lead rower. The movement is thrown off if even one member rows slower or faster. All rowers must be actively engaged, utilizing their specific strengths to move as a unit in the ideal direction.

Newsflash: Your executive team must operate the same way.

Imagine the river is your company's route to success, and your team members are the rowers. They must all participate actively to move towards each goal, each with a unique position.

How Executive Teams Function Historically

Executive teams vary from company to company in terms of size, exact functions, and effectiveness, but there are certain commonalities: multiple members, unique functions from member to member, and operating from a leadership position.

Ever heard of the “bus” analogy popularized by Jim Collins? Picture your leadership team seated on a bus with the CEO driving. The CEO manages to keep the bus traveling forward and avoids any collisions. All members sit on the bus waiting to arrive at the destination. They put all their trust in the CEO to make it happen. This is how a company should function, right?

Wrong! In my nearly 30 years as a coach and executive recruiter, I’ve only seen this model cause confusion, tension, and disagreements. It leaves a lot of pressure and stress on the CEO, and it creates a system where nothing can get done without the CEO doing it. Even worse, all members are left without guidance to lead their own departments.

Everyone off the bus.

Repeat After Me: Row, Row, Row the Boat

An effective leadership team must be collaborative, diverse, and aligned, just like a successful rowing team. No need to pull out the oars— to accomplish this, just redesign how your team functions:

1. On a sweep rowing team, every member has one oar. When there is trouble ahead, every member must work in unison to avoid the obstacle. This requires active participation and communication. Might I say a culture of feedback too?

When you form your team, do it with the intention that all members have an equal say. Instead of the CEO making all the decisions, there must be constant open communication within the team. A culture of feedback must be established. This means all executive team members can speak without fear of repercussions. With this feedback, problems will be solved more efficiently.

2. The first two rowers set the pace for their team, the middle members generate the bulk of the power, and the last two are the most technical and flexible. Similarly, you must pick an executive team with diverse backgrounds to be most successful. Diverse not just in race and age, but strengths. If all members are engineers, who will pipe in from a marketing or creative perspective?

3. A rowing team must be synced with every row. All members of your team must operate with the same direction in mind. Ask every member of your team, “What is the company vision?” Until all responses align, the team may work in different directions without realizing it. Posting the vision on your website is not enough to ensure your team members are moving the same way as you are. Your company's leaders must all be on the same page in their day-to-day tasks.

Let's transform together.

If you're intrigued by the concepts above, download my book for free: Powered By People, where I not only break down this idea but also give you steps to implement it in your organization. For additional help, take a moment to schedule an exploratory call with me today.

Let’s RiSE together,

Carol

unit in the ideal direction.