Cohesion is a crucial component of high-performing executive teams. That means all team members know how to “row in the same direction.” They trust and support each other, can handle difficult conversations with honesty and respect, and share an unwavering commitment towards the same strategic vision.
Any member who doesn’t adhere to these principles can become a disruptive force that hinders the team’s morale and progress. It is then up to the team leader to evaluate whether it is worth keeping that member on the team. This decision is never easy.
The member in question often has great talents and has shown the ability to deliver on their functional role, constantly leading their department to meet its goals. Yet, being a great individual performer isn’t enough for an executive team member. They must show willingness to embrace their team role as well.
Signs of a Disruptive Executive Team Member
Here are some common “red flags” to consider:
- The member keeps breaking the confidentiality of the executive team’s conversations by sharing what’s being discussed with people outside the team.
- The member talks behind other members’ back instead of engaging in open, honest, healthy conflict.
- The member has a pattern of working on their own agenda without getting input from the rest of the leadership team.
- After the team makes a decision, the member continues to express disagreement with it. An aligned team normally has a robust conversation by vetting contrasting opinions and then everyone come together around a certain course of action. This includes those who didn’t agree with that decision in the first place. They must put up a united front. If they don’t, they create potential for resentment, conflict, and lack of collaboration that undermine progress.
- The member has a negative attitude towards all new ways of operating. Sometimes this is just a blind spot or the result of the member having an innate initiating pattern that requires gathering more data before jumping into alternative ways of working. All of that can be solved by having some heartfelt conversations and knowing how to leverage the member’s natural approach. However, when the attitude persists even after addressing it respectfully, it can become a problem for the team.
Addressing The Issue Head On
In all these cases, it is important for the leadership team to have real dialogue about the impact of these behaviors on the team and engage in individual conversations with the disruptive member.
These are challenging conversations that require courage, openness and vulnerability from all sides. That’s why teams tend to avoid them. However, not addressing them has a far greater negative impact on the team’s morale and ability to work together.
We have seen team leaders make do and hope things will get better but the outcome is never positive. It sends the message that bad behavior is tolerated and even accepted. It undermines trust and respect, which are cornerstones of team alignment. This then cascades down to the leaders’ teams and before you know it, it turns into a company culture issue.
How Team Coaching Helps Resolve These Situations
When we coach leadership team into alignment, a big part of the work revolves around helping the team deal with these kinds of situations and behaviors.
The coaches often represent neutral third parties who can facilitate difficult conversations and allow for open sharing and even saying the “unspeakable.” We address issues individually, in one-to-one sessions, which gives members the chance to have their opinion heard. We then prepare them to bring up the problem in the team session and do so in a productive – not confrontational – manner.
Quite often, this turns things around!
Members learn how to talk to each other and find the honest conversations liberating and energizing. They see how they contribute to creating cohesion. And if there are members that still refuse to get on board, the team leader come to appreciate that cutting them loose far outweighs the positives of their individual performance.
Are you dealing with a similar situation on your executive team? Let’s talk.
