What is the Purpose of a Leadership Team?

A great leadership team and the right leadership team aren’t always the same thing. Finding what is the purpose of a leadership team and how to fill it is difficult for many agency owners. Often, business leaders think they can fill executive positions with their best employees. Sometimes that works, but most of the time these teams of super-producers fail to replicate their success in the C-suite. Companies do not need their best employees at the top; they need their best leaders running the show. Unfortunately, Deloitte’s Global Human Capital Trends 2016 report reveals only seven percent of polled executives put their rising millennial talent through leadership development programs. To build a more successful company, leaders must rethink how they build a leadership team. As You Build a Leadership Team, Who Belongs at the Top? Usually, young companies build a leadership team by developing informally and oftentimes too soon. Someone stands out as the go-to person for solutions, and that person gradually has more say in how the business operates. As the business grows, this informal arrangement becomes insufficient to meet the company’s evolving needs. Although growth necessitates formalized leadership roles, too many leaders get hung up on titles. They default to promoting department heads, elevating everyone without consideration for their circumstances. Does a department head who supervises just one person deserve a spot at the table? Maybe they do, but it depends on the skills and drive of the individual—not his or her current title. Who puts the team first? Which person considers the bigger picture when making decisions? Among the team, who offers innovative solutions and demonstrates personal accountability? What is the purpose of a leadership team head in general? Perhaps department heads [...]