According to a study done by DDI, EY, and The Conference Board, merely 14 percent of CEOs have what it takes to lead their companies to success i.e the right leadership team. They drilled into the nitty-gritty, analyzing approximately 28,000 leaders and HR professionals, and uncovered many problems. Businesses are really dropping the ball when hiring leaders and assembling an elite-level leadership dream team.

When companies fail to get their act together and make a top-notch leadership hiring, it's like playing with fire — the whole organization ends up in deep trouble. Today, we're diving deep into leadership, explicitly building a solid leadership team . This little guide explores leadership hiring techniques, how to evaluate your current team, define your leadership goals, and create a path that fosters diversity, collaboration, trust, and continuous growth.

What Does a Leadership Team Include?

A strong leadership team isn't just a 'nice-to-have'; it's the backbone of every successful organization, the driving force propelling it toward its goals. Most of the time, The leadership team comprises the organization's top executives, including the CEO, CFO, COO, CIO, and CTO. Their role guides the business and its employees toward fulfilling the CEO's vision. They're calling the shots, setting the company's direction, and ensuring everything's running smoothly.

Assessing and Adjusting the Leadership Team

Your leadership journey starts with understanding your existing team. Examine each member's strengths and weaknesses and identify any skill gaps that might be present.

• Does your team have a good mix of strategic thinkers and problem solvers?

• How does your team perform when they are under pressure?

Even with the best plans, improvement is always standing outside the door. Businesses must regularly evaluate their team's performance and always ask for feedback from team members. Be ready to make adjustments to keep your unit hitting the ground.

Define the Goals You Want Your Team to Achieve

Regarding leadership hiring, one of the most important things you can do is define the goals you want your team to achieve.

You need to follow actionable points to set achievable goals for your leadership team:

• Implementing a new initiative or way of doing things. Setting the SMART Goals ensures everyone is working towards the same objectives, which must align with your organization's broader mission and goals.

• If your organization needs to expand its operations, hire more long-term staff. The goal here would be to hire a certain number of long-term staff within a specific timeframe. Measures of success include the number of new hires who stay with the company for over a year, team productivity improvements, etc.

• You need to Define KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to provide a way to measure progress toward the goals, which can help to keep everyone on track and identify any issues that need to be addressed.

Developing a Leadership Pipeline

After knowing your team and setting clear objectives, it's time to think about future leadership. Remember, your future leaders are likely already with you. They just need suitable options to shine!

The process of identifying potential leaders and hiring leaders within your organization, providing them with opportunities for growth and development, and nurturing them through mentorship and coaching programs:

• Before you start picking your team, figure out what you want them to focus on to help you choose the right people who can help achieve the company's goals.

• To build a great team, one should consider what the team is responsible for, the type of people the team should be composed of, and the optimal team size.

• To avoid diminishing returns and social loafing, limit the leadership team size to around five people for Individual accountability and motivation and enhanced team performance.

• This approach ensures that each team member feels greater responsibility and ownership, fostering a collaborative environment where everyone actively contributes and exerts their best efforts.

• By consciously managing team size, organizations can mitigate the adverse effects of social loafing and maximize the effectiveness of their teams.

Building a Diverse and Inclusive Leadership Team

A diverse leadership team brings a variety of perspectives, experiences, and ideas, fostering innovation and resilience. So, make sure your leadership reflects the diversity of your broader team. You can achieve this through inclusive hiring practices and actively encouraging and welcoming diverse perspectives within your leadership team.

• Consider the Personal Qualities You Desire: Think about the traits you want in your leaders. Things like creativity, problem-solving skills, and emotional intelligence are usually good to have. Also, leaders who play well with others can help build trust and make decisions faster.

• Begin Selecting Team Members: Now it's time to pick your team. Look for people with a wide range of skills and strengths. You might find these people within your company or from similar industries.

• Ensure That Your Team is Highly Qualified: Make sure your leaders have the experience and skills needed to do their jobs effectively. Look for people who understand business issues and can fill gaps in your team's abilities.

Enhancing Communication and Collaboration

Open and transparent communication is the glue that holds a team together. You need to foster a culture where ideas are freely exchangeable, questions and ideas can be shared without fear, and everyone's voice is valued.

• Encourage collaboration and consider utilizing effective team communication tools to keep everyone connected and in the loop.

• Communicate the Organization's Mission and Vision and Make sure your new leadership team knows what the company's all about.

• Communicate What You Want in a Team, including the skills you want them to have and how you want them to work together.

Empowering and Delegating Responsibilities

Influential leaders understand the strengths of their team members and delegate tasks accordingly. Empower your leaders to make decisions and provide the necessary resources and support to help them succeed. It's incredible how much can be achieved when individuals feel trusted and supported!

• What Should a Leadership Team Focus On? Leadership teams should focus on strategy, collaboration, and leadership development, foster a collaborative spirit, and continuously grow their leadership skills.

• Seek Input from Your Leadership Team: Ask your leaders for their thoughts and ideas to help them feel included to lead to advancements.

• Develop Guidelines and Systems for Measuring Goals: Set up some rules and systems to keep things organized and track progress. You need to decide who does what, outline company policies, and set up ways to measure performance.

Continuous Learning and Development

The learning journey never ends, especially for leaders. Encourage ongoing professional development within your team. Consider implementing training programs and workshops and facilitating a culture of ongoing learning and skilling-up.

There are some leadership hiring techniques to Build and Improve Your Leadership Team:

• Just be intentional about leadership hiring, communicating the company vision, valuing collaboration.

• Developing structures and systems, determining how progress on goals is measured.

• Make leadership and self-development a top priority.

• Help your leaders grow by giving them chances to learn new skills and gain more knowledge.

Master Effective Leadership Meetings

Running an impactful leadership requires a well-executed formula. Consider the following essential tips:

• Start with a Comprehensive Agenda and Share the agenda well in advance to set clear expectations.

• Developing structures and systems, determining how progress on goals is measured.

• Communicate Important Updates and details about significant developments.

• Track Progress on Key Metrics and discuss the team's performance against goals and milestones.

• Celebrate Wins and Success Stories and highlight positive outcomes.

• Address Challenges and Roadblocks and tackle any obstacles the team is facing.

• Document Meeting Notes and Keep a record of discussions for future reference.

• Assign Action Items and Decisions to drive progress.

• Gather valuable insights from the C-suite after the meeting concludes.

Conclusion

In summary, leadership hiring and building a solid leadership team is a dynamic, ongoing process that involves the following:

• Assessing your team

• Defining and aligning goals

• Nurturing future leaders

• Embracing diversity

• Promoting communication and collaboration

• Fostering trust, accountability, and

• Continuous learning.

Remember, Rome didn't build itself in a day, and neither will you build the Leadership team like this. Our blog post concludes by encouraging readers to learn more about creating momentum in their organization through team building.