Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your Senior Leadership Team

There’s a saying that if it moves, you should measure it. Well I’m not sure if your senior leadership team moves, you should be measuring the effectiveness of the group. It’s one thing to do a performance review on each individual, as they are evaluated based on the role they’re in. It’s quite another thing, though, to do a performance review on how well the team works together and continues to move the ball forward to achieve the goals and objectives of the business. There are probably many things that we could measure the senior team on, but here are a few that I think are important.

The members of the senior team should also be viewed as stewards of the business. They take on this role and should think beyond their own areas of responsibility. Their collective wisdom and experience play a key role in allowing the business to have an effective leadership management organization. In evaluating the team, you might look at how well they are able to separate themselves from their day-to-day responsibilities and act as guardians of the business.

Living the vision and the core values at work is an attainable goal for the senior team. After all, if not them, then who? Like it or not, they are on a pedestal and need to set an example for the rest of the staff. As I wrote in a recent blog, this is not a sometimes thing, it’s an all-the-time thing. You may find that some may struggle with this. If this is the case, and it can’t be rectified, you may have to replace that person on the team. I would not compromise on this. Remember, you get what you tolerate.

One of the byproducts of developing the senior team is allowing the organization to grow into a leadership management structure. With that goal in mind, each member of the team should be able to take on initiatives that benefit the organization. They should be focused on building a scalable and sustainable business. The problems that are solved at this level are those that would be difficult to be solved by only one person. You could evaluate the team effectiveness by the degree in which you have to encourage them to take on new initiatives.

Some days it appears that the group is really pushing themselves to do great work. They are strategic in their thoughts and approach and innovative in developing new ideas and challenging past expectations. Other days it may seem like they are simply going through the motions. As the leader of the group, one of your roles is to keep the light burning brightly on the goals for this team, as well as coaching each of the participants to play to their potential. There’s a saying that if you set the bar low enough, you’ll certainly reach it. How much effort is needed to stay focused on the needs of all the stakeholders and keep the bar raised high for the benefit of the organization?

The more that you have invested in this leadership team, the more of a return that you should expect. The more that you and your leadership team places a focus on continuous improvement for the organization, the better the outcome you should expect. Don’t aspire to be average—that’s not why you got into this business.

Please add any comments or questions below. Good luck!

Mike Philie can help validate what’s working and what may need to change in your business. Changing the trajectory of a business is difficult to do while simultaneously operating the core competencies. Mike provides strategy and insight to owners and CEOs in the Graphic Communications Industry by providing direct and realistic assessments, not being afraid to voice the unpopular opinion and helping leaders navigate change through a common sense and practical approach. Learn more at www.philiegroup.com, LinkedIn or email at mphilie@philiegroup.com.