A growth-oriented organization must have a formidable executive team at the top. It may be called the “top team” or “core team”. Who qualifies to be a part of this senior team of a selected few?
I have listed a few qualities of potential leaders like culture fit, result-oriented, self-managed, responsible, hard worker, good communicator etc. in my earlier post here. Of course, each individual on the top team must possess these basic qualities. They must also be an experienced expert in some function and capable of significant individual contributions. That is a minimum qualification.
In addition, what should be the attributes of the members of this team?
Many entrepreneurs prefer to have members who are like them and who agree with them in all matters. Those who do not raise questions and follow the instructions, however potentially harmful they may be to the organization.
However, having no dissenting voice is not always good for the long-term health of such a team and its organization. A team of “Yes men” may be good for our ego. A resounding “Yes boss” is very pleasant to hear. However, our organization needs a team of competent independent thinkers who have their own perspectives and also the courage to express it.
No one can make all the right decisions all the time. Sometimes we also may falter. If we depend only on our own resourcefulness, then the probability of our making wrong choices increases highly. It is a huge advantage to have some wise members in our team who can find chinks in our armour and boldly tell us so.
Entrepreneurs sometimes need someone who can be a devil’s advocate and ask them a penetrating “Why are you doing this?”. There should be some members in your top team who can assertively say “You are wrong” or “You should not do this”, and you should be okay with that without feeling insulted or uncomfortable. Sometimes, that opposing viewpoint may force you to probe a little more before making the final decision and it may prevent a lot of damage to your organization.
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-Sanjay Shah
SME Business Coach
SME Business Coach