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A High-Performance Team: Identify, Please

May 1, 2019

Discover the secrets to building and evaluating a winning team culture that delivers results.

Discover the secrets to building and evaluating a winning team culture that delivers results.

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION

A High-Performance Team: Identify, Please

By Howard M. Guttman


HOW CAN A BOARD of directors tell whether or not the top-management team is a high-performance one?

"Financial results" is the short answer that most directors would likely give. While few could argue with financial metrics as the key indicator of success, it is only one of many useful indicators. In today's complex, global, need-for-speed environment, how a team achieves its success is as important as what it accomplishes.


As Everett Cook, managing director and co-founder of private equity firm Pouschine Cook, points out:"A company will not survive, much less flourish, without being open to innovation, to new ideas, and to the adaptation of best practices. And for that, it needs to operate horizontally rather than hierarchically, beginning with top management."


A high-performing team is a fully aligned entity that operates horizontally to achieve increasingly higher levels of results. There is fundamental agreement on the business strategy. Roles are clear, and accountability is redefined to include peers holding one another—and the leader—accountable for results. Protocols are in place for decision-making, conflict management, and team behavior. Relationships are transparent and avoid silo mentality.


FOUR QUESTIONS TO EVALUATE A HIGH-PERFORMANCE TEAM

1. Does the CEO Role-Model High-Performance Behavior?

Several years ago, I was called in to coach the CEO of a major consumer goods company who was facing a potential threat. A board member had begun a private campaign for the CEO's ouster. My assessment was that the director was engaged in a passive-aggressive, underground game and that the CEO should steer clear of similar behavior.


The CEO readily agreed. He opened the next board meeting by saying there was an issue he wanted to put on the table for discussion. He told his board that he was getting the message that not everyone on the board was comfortable with the way he was leading. He asked for feedback:"What am I doing right? What am I doing wrong?"


The result: The director who started the controversy was forced to the surface to explain to the board and the CEO what his objections were. Unconvinced, the majority of directors immediately voiced strong support for the CEO. End of discussion.

This CEO role-modeled the willingness to openly and honestly confront issues, a trait that distinguishes high-performance leaders. His board could be confident that he would not resort to subterfuge in their dealings, and that his leadership style was rooted in candor and openness. In all likelihood, his team members lived by similar values.


2. Are There Surprises?

A team that has nothing to hide is not just willing but eager to ensure the board is up to date on everything going on in the company—good and bad.

Catherine Burzik, CEO of Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI), a leader in wound-care products, believes in the Golden Rule: "Don’t surprise the board, just as the CEO and top team don’t want the board to surprise them." She explains:"The management team is together all the time, but the board only meets quarterly, so there is often a lag between what management knows and what the board knows."


Burzik recommends communicating with the board between quarterly meetings—at least once a month during periods of major change within the company.

At Axcan Pharma, CEO Frank Verwiel values board-management transparency:"The private equity firm that purchased us has a wealth of experience and resources, making it a terrific sparring partner with which to debate the merits of strategic and operational alternatives. The more transparent we are, the more we can tap into its resources to create the most valuable company we can."


3. Is the Top Team Aligned?

High-performance teams share a common behavioral repertoire:

  • Strategically aligned decision-making

  • Team over individual wins

  • Across-the-team accountability

  • Comfort dealing with conflict

  • Quick issue resolution


Directors can spot misalignments by observing how members interact. Consider these questions:


  • Do they speak with one voice, or are they preoccupied with functional issues?

  • Are they candid and straightforward, or do they hem and haw?

  • Do they seek approval from others, especially the CEO?

  • Is there visible tension during discussions?

  • Are conversations dominated by a few, leaving others silent?

  • Do they appear confident and powerful, or tentative and wary?

  • Are they open to feedback, or do they shut down?


Aligned teams operate with clear protocols for decision-making—who makes decisions, how, and by when. Misalignment often manifests in functional budgets or strategic initiatives.


4. Can We Get Past the CEO?

Be wary of CEOs who control information flow and limit team interaction. This behavior can signal trouble.


Burzik actively seeks opportunities for her team to interact with her board:"Directors, especially committee chairs, are in an excellent position to judge how much value a team member adds."


A high-performing team isn’t leaderless—it’s a team of leaders. Directors should evaluate how executives engage with committees:


  • Do they bring leadership savvy as well as content?

  • Can they lead independently?

  • How do they handle resistance and assert themselves?


Lastly, Cook highlights the value of "directing by walking around." Visiting company sites, talking to employees, and observing conditions provide directors a firsthand sense of senior management’s effectiveness.


ALIGNING THE BOARD AND MANAGEMENT

High-performance requires mutual trust. Unfortunately, many executives view boards as auditors rather than allies. Bridging this divide requires alignment.

Shift the focus from content (business issues) to process (how they work together). Agreement on mutual expectations, roles, responsibilities, and behavioral protocols ensures candor replaces distrust, paving the way for high performance.


How Alfred Sloan Sharpened the Truth

Legendary GM President Alfred P. Sloan Jr. offered timeless wisdom:"Gentlemen, I take it we are all in complete agreement on the subject here? Then I propose we postpone further discussion to develop disagreement and perhaps gain some understanding of what the decision is all about."

Great teams respect the value of unfettered dialogue, recognizing that dissent sharpens the truth and drives better decisions.


Howard M. Guttman is the principal of Guttman Development Strategies (www.guttmandev.com), a Mt. Arlington, NJ-based firm specializing in high-performance teams and leadership development.

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