Inside the Entrepreneurial

Top Team

Prof. Patrick Flood

Dublin City University Business School

Today's agenda

• Discuss what makes for an effective top team• Listen to the advice of some key leaders• Carry out an audit of team effectiveness• Develop ‘take aways’ to help you and your company

5 minute-Ice Breaker

Discuss in pairs

•How well do senior managers co-operate in your organisation

The challenges of growth for

owners

• How big do you want to grow?• Lifestyle issues of growth• Growth means professionalising• Stay the course or cash out?• Do you want to stay on as MD? Succession• Keeping the entrepreneurial culture• Growth may mean changing the team

The different dimensions to the top

management group

Symbolic

Alignment

Direction and Market

The 360 world of the MD

MD

TOP

MANAGEMENT

TEAM

Customers

Main Suppliers

Financial

Community

Board

of

Directors Government

and

Regulators

Stakeholders

Society

at large

VALUE

CONSTITUENCY SOCIAL

CONSTITUENCIES

Organisation at large

Adapted from Nadler and Heilpern, 1998

Building an effective team

The building blocks of the Top

Team

Who

Size Meeting

s

Incentives

Group

Leader

Balance in the top team

CEO/Director

• Self management

• Experience & skills

• Self-image

• Team skills

• Role demands

• Motivation

Business Needs

• Critical variables

• Key goals

• Tasks

• Action steps

• Distinctive competence

CEO/Director

• Capabilities

versus

• Requirements of Business

Assessment of needs

Profile of ideal team

Team Formation

• Compatibility

• Diversity

• Trust & commitment

• Alignment of expectations

• Reward system

Part-time/full time

Now/later

New/current

Financing

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3

Step 4Step 5

GAP?

Patrick Lencioni_ Five Dysfunctions Of a Team.wmv.mp4

Bias to action Attention to

Results

Accountability Communication

with employees

and each other

Score Score Score Score

Business

acumen

Capacity to

handle conflict

maturely

Trust within the

team

Market Focus

Score Score Score Score

Rate your team out of 10 where10 is excellent

Top Team Competency Exercise

An effective top team- is where individuals must score over 7 in at least 8

areas. Scores in 4 to 7 zone in any competency suggests a need to focus

on this development need

Common problems in top teams

What are your values?

Transitions in the team

1. Entry/Experimentation Stage

• Gain confidence and trust of TMT members and stakeholders

• Establish powerbase and build alliances

•Win loyalty

2. Consolidation Stage

• Security

• Built up credit with constituencies

• May settle on particular theme - need to look out for rigidity

3. Decline Stage

• Myopia

• May lead to bankruptcy

4. Renewal Stage

Adapted from Kets de Vries

The succession race

Does your team seek feedback?

Engaging your employees about change

Team-building at the top: four elements

CONTEXT AND TEAM CHARTER

INTERACTIONS

TEAM QUALITY ASSURANCE

ROLES PROCEDURES

GOALS

Further reading

• Effective Top Management Teams by Patrick Flood, Sarah Mac Curtain and

Michael West (Blackhall:Dublin)

• Executive Teams by David Nadler, Janet Spencer and Associates (Jossey Bass,

San Francisco, CA)

• The Persuasive Leader byStephen Carroll and Patrick Flood

(Jossey Bass, San Francisco, CA).