I’ve been lucky to be a part of, and oversee, some amazing leadership teams. Exceptional teams drive results in a way that produces a multiplier effect more impactful than the sum of their parts across new business, creativity, client satisfaction, and culture.
Here are three tips on building exceptional leadership teams:
Recruit and filter for values. At BBDO and Proximity, we’ve identified 10 values that characterize our best and most successful people. They serve as our lens for recruiting and promoting talent and we evaluate all of our people against them.
Agree on what are the must-have values in your organization and don’t waiver or compromise.
Get to know your true colors. Use technology to help your leadership team understand each other better. We use Insights Discovery, a color-based system, to help our executives better under-stand each other’s strengths and how they can complement one another. When you understand that a driver (a “red”) wants it done now but an analyst (a “blue”) wants it done right, it’s a lot easier to navigate differences because you understand where the other person is coming from.
Get out of the office. Annual off-site planning meetings help to align around a common vision and set goals for the next year. Share progress of the vision and goals with the broader organization every quarter. It’s a great way to hold team members accountable and keep them engaged beyond their day-to-day duties.
Doing the above things, makes for a very engaged, high-achieving team that will drive results.
