August 8, 2024

Essentials for Senior Team Effectiveness

By Ken Giglio, Principal of Mindful Leadership

Why are some senior teams trusted by employees more than others?

A 2023 Gallup survey found only 23% of employees trust their senior leaders. It’s not an overstatement the senior leader behaviors behind these survey data are reflections of senior team behaviors. The same survey found when senior leaders, and, by extension, senior teams, exhibit high effectiveness in leading and supporting change, communicating clearly, and inspiring confidence in the future, 95% of employees fully trust their leaders. And, clearly, employees who trust their leaders are more engaged and higher performing themselves.

We know managers and leaders are always on stage, watched by employees for clues about what behaviors are okay and not okay and what constitutes effectiveness in their workplace. This is especially true with the senior-most teams, because, as one CEO put it, “everyone in the organization is looking up at us to understand what’s expected of them and how we will support them in getting things done.”

The CEO understood the senior team’s effectiveness was critical for building and maintaining a trusting relationship between the top team and the entire organization’s employees. The top team is responsible for setting expectations for what high-performing teams look like in the ways they communicate, coordinate work, engage with other teams, and treat each other as supportive colleagues.

Of the many models and frameworks developed for team effectiveness, one well-researched approach I draw on when working with executive teams is The Seven Drivers of Team Effectiveness. Another framework I use is The Six Conditions of Team Effectiveness, which I’ve written about in a previous blog post.

Industrial/Organizational psychologists Scott Tannenbaum and Eduardo Salas developed the Seven Drivers, all conveniently starting with C—Capability, Cooperation, Coordination, Communication, Cognition, Coaching, and Conditions—from their practical work with senior teams and from numerous research studies. They define team effectiveness as having three components:

• Sustained performance – Generating positive results over time
• Team resilience – Working through challenges and bouncing back from adversity
• Vitality – Maintaining energy, vibrancy, and resources needed for future success.

The Seven Drivers are essential building blocks for effective teaming, and my experience working with senior teams during the course of 20 years has highlighted coaching for the team as a team is often the linchpin that sustains team effectiveness over time. Team coaching can be provided by the leader, team peers, or an internal or external executive coach. It allows the team to reflect and learn together, reinforces accountability, and keeps the team on the same page so they can build the team culture as the foundation for executing their strategy.

Gaining the trust of employees takes more than individual leadership effectiveness; it takes senior team effectiveness. Senior teams model for all the teams below them what success looks like when people come together with a collective intention and focus to accomplish important and impactful work for an organization.