Mcsey

&company

People&OrganizationalPerformancePractice

Demystifyingtop-team

performance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow

Buildingahealthy,high-performingtopteamdoesn’thappenby

accident—it’sadeliberate,ongoingprocess.CEOswhocommittothisprioritycanbuildasustainablecompetitiveadvantageovertime.

ThisarticleisacollaborativeeffortbyFabriceDesmarescaux,GautamKumra,JoydeepSengupta,andMukundSridhar,withJenniferChiang,representingviewsfromMcKinsey’sCenterforCEOExcellence;Aberkyn,aMcKinseycompany;andMcKinsey’sPeople&OrganizationalPerformancePractice.

October2025

Imagineanexecutivemeetingroom.Thetopicat

handisthecompany’sinternationalgrowthstrategy.Severalpathslieahead—acquisitions,jointventures,ororganicentryintonewmarkets.Eachoffers

advantagesbutalsosignificantrisks.Whenthe

CEOfinishesspeaking,silencefillstheroom.Afteralengthypause,theCEOoffershisperspective.Headsnod.Afewpolitemurmursofagreement.

Atfirstglance,itseemsthattheCEOhashitupon

thebestpathforward—butmaybenot.Apolite

discussionaboutanimportant,difficultdecision

oftensignalsadeeperissue:anunderperforming

topexecutiveteam.Perhapstheartificialharmonyisasignthattheteamdoesnotfeelsafeenough

tosharetheirperspectivesordebatetherequiredtrade-offs.Orperhapstheyareunsureoftheirroleinthedecision.Whateverthereason,theCEOhasaseriousproblem.

Buildingandmanagingahigh-performingteamisahigh-stakesendeavorforeveryCEOand

organization.Intoday’sincreasinglycomplex

businesslandscape,teamsarethecatalyst

thatpropelsorganization-widetransformation.

McKinseyresearchindicatesthattransformationsanchoredinteam-centricapproachescan

deliverlastingimpactandimproveorganizationalefficiencybyupto30percent.1Attheverytop

ofanorganization,thestakesareevenhigher:

Companieswhosetopexecutiveteammembersarealignedandworkingeffectivelytogetherarealmosttwiceaslikelytoachieveanabove-medianfinancialperformance.2

ThroughtheMcKinseyCenterforCEOExcellence,

wehaveengagedwithnearly200currentandformerCEOsaroundtheworld(seesidebar“Aboutthe

McKinseyCenterforCEOExcellence,Aberkyn,andMcKinsey’sPeople&OrganizationalPerformancePractice”).Mostoftheseleadersviewteambuildingasaburningplatform:Over70percentoftheCEOsinourCEOExcellenceprogramchoosebuilding,

retaining,andgrowingeffectivetopteamsastheirnumber-onedevelopmentpriorityasleaders.

Butwhatfactorsreallymatterinbuildingastellartopteam?And,crucially,whatconcreteactions

canCEOstaketogetthere?Thisarticledrawsonnewdata—coveringcloseto30globalcompanies,

AbouttheMcKinseyCenterforCEOExcellence,Aberkyn,andMcKinsey’sPeople&OrganizationalPerformancePractice

TheMcKinseyCenterforCEOExcellence(MCCE)isMcKinsey’sdedicatedofferingfocusedonCEOdevelopment.MCCEis

anchoredonthebookCEOExcellence,

writtenbyMcKinseyseniorpartners

CarolynDewar,ScottKeller,andVikramMalhotra.Theresearchunderpinning

thebookisbasedonmorethan20years’worthofdataon7,800CEOsfrom3,500publiccompaniesacross70countries

and24industries.1TheflagshipMCCE

journeyinvolvesauniquenine-monthCEOExcellenceprogram,tailoredtohelpCEOselevatetheirperformanceandreachtheirfullpotential.

MCCEpartnerswithAberkyn,aMcKinsey

companyspecializinginleadershipand

culturetransformation,todeliverwork-

shops,coaching,andlearningjourneysforCEOsfocusingontop-teammanagement

andbroaderleadershipdevelopmentareas.Aberkynishometoacommunityofover180

experts—world-classprogramdesigners

andfacilitatorswhocombinedeeptransfor-mationalskillsandbusinessacumen—andhasservedover300clientsglobally.2

McKinsey’sPeople&Organizational

PerformancePracticebringstogether

McKinsey’sleadingexpertsinleadershipdevelopment,culturetransformation,

organizationalperformance,andtalenttohelporganizationsunleashsustainable

performancethroughtheirpeople.

1CarolynDewar,ScottKeller,andVikramMalhotra,CEOExcellence:TheSixMindsetsThatDistinguishtheBestLeadersfromtheRest,Scribner,2022.

2“Whoweare,”Aberkyn,accessedSeptember4,2025.

1“Allaboutteams:Anewapproachtoorganizationaltransformation,”McKinsey,December9,2024.

2ScottKellerandMaryMeaney,LeadingOrganizations:TenTimelessTruths,Bloomsbury,2017.

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow2

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow3

withafocusonAsia3toanswerthesetoo-often-neglectedquestions,aswellasprovidingmultiplereal-worldexamplesofsuccessfultop-team

transformationsandtheirimpactonteammorale,alignment,andperformance.

Buildingastartopteam:AnimperativeforCEOs

LeoTolstoymaynothavehadthecorporateworldinmindwhenhewrote“Allhappyfamiliesare

alike;eachunhappyfamilyisunhappyinitsown

way,”4butthisstatementcouldeasilyapplyto

theteam-buildingcontext.Dysfunctionamong

topteamsissurprisinglycommon,eveninlarge

companies;accordingtoHarvardBusinessReview,nearly75percentofcross-functionalteamsare

dysfunctional.5

Inapreviousarticle,McKinseyuseddatafrom

morethan100teamsatvariouslevelswithinglobalorganizationstodebunkcommonmythsaboutteamperformance.6Thisarticlebuildsonthatresearch

butfocusesonlyontheperformanceofaCEOstopteam.WhenCEOsstepintotherole,theyhaveto

reexamine,andinmanycasesjettison,anumberoflong-heldassumptionsabouttopteams.

Onecommonmisperceptionisabouttherolethat

topteamsshouldplay.Intraditionalhierarchical

organizationalmodels,foundquiteofteninthe

Asiancorporatecontext,leadersfrequentlyemploya“hubandspoke”leadershipmodelinwhich

CEOsmakeallthecriticaldecisionsandthentask

teammembersindividuallytoexecute.Whilethis

leadershipmodelmayworkatlowerlevelswithin

anorganization,itbreaksdownasindividualsrise

throughtheranksandencountermorecomplex

problems.Intodaysvolatileanduncertainworld,atopteamneedstooperateasastrong,cohesiveunittonavigateallthedisruptions.

Therecanalsobeamisperceptionaboutwhata

high-performingtopteamshouldlookandfeellike.Ouropeningscene,forexample,illustratesthata

topteamthatdoesnotevinceanyrealdisagreementmayactuallyhavedeep-rootedissues.Thetruthis

thatthebesttopteamsactivelyembracehealthyconflict,surfaceuncomfortabletruths,and

consistentlycallouttheelephantsintheroom.

Afurthermisperceptioninvolveshowtopteams

comeabout.Theartofbuildingacorporateteamisrarely,ifever,taughtinmanagementorleadershipschool,whereitisoftenregardedasaone-off

Thebesttopteamsactivelyembrace

healthyconflict,surfaceuncomfortabletruths,andconsistentlycallout

theelephantsintheroom.

3Ofthe28teamsincludedintheanalysispresentedhere,themajorityarefromAsiaPacific,followedbytheMiddleEast,Europe,andotherregions.

4LeoTolstoy,AnnaKarenina,PenguinBooks,2002.

5BehnamTabrizi,“75%ofcross-functionalteamsaredysfunctional,”HarvardBusinessReview,June23,2015.

6“Go,teams:Whenteamsgethealthier,thewholeorganizationbenefits,”McKinseyQuarterly,October31,2024.

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow4

teambuildingexerciseduringanannualstrategy

meeting.Whatcomestomindwhenyouthinkofa

stellarteam?Perhapsit’safavoritesportsteam,a

symphonyorchestra,oranelitemilitaryunit.Whatallthoseteamshaveincommonisthattheyrelentlesslypracticeworkingasacohesiveunit.Forexample,in

theEnglishPremierLeague—oneofthebestsoccerleaguesintheworld7—teamsplayjust38gamesperyear,withthemajorityoftheirtimespentintraining.Asimilarprincipleappliestotopcorporateteams:Tobe“matchfit”forthebigmoments,teamsneedtospendconsiderabletimelearninghowbesttoworktogether.

Anevidence-basedapproachtounderstandingtop-teamhealth

Tobuildahigh-performingtopteam,CEOs

musttakeadisciplined,analyticalapproachto

understandbothwhatiscurrentlyworkingandwhatisnot.Basedonextensiveglobalresearch(see

sidebar“Abouttheresearch”),wehaveidentifiedspecificteamattributesandbehaviors,orhealth

drivers,thatmatterforteamperformance(seesidebar“Detailsonthedriversofteamhealth”).

Theseteamhealthdriversaregroupedintofour

coreareas(Exhibit1):configuration(theteamhas

clearrolesandamixofperspectives),alignment

(teammembersareclearontheteam’sdirection

andarecommittedtoit),execution(howwellthe

teamcarriesoutitswork),andrenewal(team

members’interactionswitheachotheremanate

positiveenergyandsetthemupforlong-term

sustainability).Byanalyzingtop-teamhealthdriversacrossthesefourareas,CEOscangetawell-

roundedviewofteameffectiveness.

Commonchallengesacrosstopteams

Ourdatasuggeststhattopteamsconsistently

strugglewithattributesrelatedtointeraction,suchaspsychologicalsafety,conflictmanagement,innovativethinking,andanopen-feedbackculture(Exhibit2).

Theseissuesarerarelydiscussedopenlyandarerooted

Abouttheresearch

Weinvestigated14annualliterature

reviewsandmorethan140published

documentsonthetopicofeffectiveteaming,resultinginaresearch-backedframework

thatoutlinesthedriversofteameffective-ness.Thisframeworkwasusedtobuild

theTeamEffectivenessIndex(TEI),which

isbasedonadiagnostic—takenbyall

membersofanyteam—thatwastestedandrefinedthroughtworoundsofpilotstudies.

TheTEIdiagnostic

ThediagnostictoolunderpinningtheTEIasksindividualstoscorethemselvesandtheirfellowteammembersacrosstwokeydimensions:

—Teamhealth.Scoresrelateto

perceptionsofbehavior-basedinputs

acrossthe17driversoftop-teamhealth.

—Teamperformance.Scoresrelatetoperceptionsofateam’scurrentoutputs,basedonefficiency,

innovation,andresults.

Acrossbothhealthandperformance,

aggregatescoresperdriveraregivenas

neteffectivenessscores(NES),whicharecalculatedasthepercentageofindividualswhogaveahighscoreminusthepercent-agethatgavealowscore.AhigherNES

indicateshighereffectiveness.Theoverallteamscoreforhealthandperformanceisanaverageoftheneteffectivenessscoresoftherelevantsub-elements.

Thedataset

Theinsightsofferedinthisarticleare

basedonsurveyresultsfrom354top-

teammembersacross28majorcompaniesglobally.Ofthesecompanies,amajority

arefromAsia–Pacific,followedbytheMiddleEast,Europe,andotherregions.

7BarnabyLane,“Thebestsoccerleaguesintheworld:Adefinitiveranking,”SportsIllustrated,April5,2025.

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow5

Detailsonthedriversofteamhealth

Teamhealthhas17drivers—thatis,behaviorsorattributesthatdefinehowwelltheteamworkstogether(table).

Table

Seventeendriverscontributetoteamhealth.

Lens

Healthdriver

Thedegreetowhichteammembers…

Con?guration

Diverseperspectives

Haveamixofperspectivesthatmovetheteam’sworkforward

Dowehaverole

clarityandthe

Externalorientation

Areconnectedtonetworksoutsidethecoreteamorthebroader

necessarymixofskillsandperspectives?

organizationtolearnnewperspectivesandinsights

Rolede?nition

Understandtheexpectationsandresponsibilitiesofindividualrolesandhavetherightpeopleintherightroles

Alignment

Commitment

Arecommittedtotheteamandprioritizeteamsuccessovertheirown

Arewecommittedtotheteam,andareweclearonourteam

purposeandgoals?

Goals

Purpose

Haveindividual-orteam-levelgoals(orboth)thatarechallengingtoachieveandarealignedtotheprioritiesofthebroaderorganization

Arealignedonaclearteampurposeandcanarticulatewhattheteamismeanttoaccomplish

Execution

Collaboration

Haveagreed-uponnormsthatacceleratecollaborationandimprove

Areweefectively

waysofworking

carryingoutourday-to-daywork?

Communication

Decision-making

Feedback

Meetingefectiveness

Communicatesu代cientlyandefectively,andchoosetherightcommunicationmethodsasrelevant

De?neclearrolesinthedecision-makingprocess;makequick,high-qualitydecisions;andlearnfrompoordecisions

Givehonestandefectivefeedback,invitedirectfeedback,andreceivecoachingsupport

Focusonthingswecanactioninourmeetings,involvetherightpeopleattherighttime,andfollowthroughonnextsteps

Renewal

Belonging

Feeltheyareapartoftheteamandcanbethemselves

Dowecreatetherightworkingenvironmentandenactpractices

forlong-termlearningandimprovement?

Conlictmanagement

Innovativethinking

Psychologicalsafety

Recognition

Trust

Addressconlictsefectivelyandinwaysthatimproveteamrelationships

Seekoutopposingperspectives,haveopendiscussionsaboutchange,andencourageout-of-the-boxthinkingandsolutions

Feelcomfortablemakingmistakesandtakingriskswithoutfearof

negativeconsequences,constructivelydisagreewithoneanother,andproactivelyinviteoneanother’sinput

Arerecognizedforexcellentperformance,celebrateone

another’saccomplishments,andholdoneanothertoconsistentperformancestandards

Feeltheycanrelyononeanother,giveeachotherthespacetogetworkdone,anddemonstrategoodjudgment

McKinsey&Company

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow6

Exhibit1

Alignment

CommitmentGoals

Purpose

Con?gurationDiverseperspectives

ExternalorientationRolede?nition

Teamhealth

Belonging

ConlictmanagementInnovativethinking

PsychologicalsafetyRecognition

Trust

CollaborationCommunicationDecision-making

FeedbackMeetingefectiveness

ExecutionRenewal

McKinsey&Company

indeeperteamdynamics.Whileoursamplesizeisnot

largeenoughtoenablealookatregionaldifferences,

lowerscoresonconflictmanagementandfeedback

mayreflecttheconflictavoidancetendenciesoften

observedinAsia-basedcompanies.8Ontheotherhand,respondentsreportedhigherscores,onaverage,on

alignment-relatedattributes,includingcommitment,sharedpurpose,andtheexistenceofgoalsalignedtotheorganization’svision.

Translatingtop-teamhealthintostrongcompanyperformance:

Whatmattersmost?

Tounderstandwhattrulymattersfortop-team

performance,welookedathowthesehealthdrivers

correlatewithaholisticperformanceindicator.9

Ouranalysissuggeststhattheattributesand

behaviorsmostpredictiveofhighperformance10

areroledefinition,purpose,innovativethinking,

communication,and(tiedforfifthplace)recognition

andpsychologicalsafety(Exhibit3).Whiletwoofthesedrivers—purposeandcommunication—areamong

thoseonwhichtopteamstendedtorankthemselvesthehighest,twoothers—innovativethinkingand

psychologicalsafety—rankamongtheweakest,suggestingtheymayneedparticularattention.

Thereareslightnuanceddifferencesbetweenthesetopdriversandthoseidentifiedintheprevious

McKinseyarticle11asaresultofboththedifferenttypesofteamssurveyedanddifferencesinthe

geographicalmakeupofthesamples(seesidebar“Keydifferencesbetweenthetop-teamdatasetandthefull-organizationdataset”).

Ouranalysisalsosuggeststhattherelative

importanceofcoretop-teamattributesmayshiftoverthecourseofaCEO’stenure(seesidebar

“Driversoftop-teamperformancemayevolve

withCEOtenure”).ForCEOswhoareearlyintheirtenure,havingclearroledefinitionandleveragingbothexternalandinternalperspectivesarethe

standoutpredictorsoftop-teamperformance,whileinnovativethinking,communication,andpsychologicalsafetybecomemoreimportantastheCEOsettlesintotherole.

8AjaySomaraju,“Conflictavoidance—astudyacrossIndian,EastAsian,andWesterncultures,”34thAnnualSocietyforIndustrialandOrganizationalPsychologyConference,May2021.

9Ourperformanceindicatorisacompositeoftopteams’self-assessmentonthreekeyperformance-relatedcriteria:efficiency(istheteam

productiveandmeetingdeadlines?),innovation(doestheteaminnovateinawaythatiscriticaltolong-termorganizationalvalue?),andresults(doestheteamdeliveronobjectivesanddelightstakeholders,customers,and/orclients?).

10Analysisinthissectionlooksatthecorrelationbetweendriversandperformance,andshouldnotbetakentoimplyacausalrelationship.

11“Go,teams:Whenteamsgethealthier,thewholeorganizationbenefits,”McKinseyQuarterly,October31,2024.

Exhibit2

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow7

Topteamsoftenstrugglewithattributesrelatedtohowtheyinteract,whileshowingmorecon?denceinalignment-relatedattributes.

TeamHealthNetEfectiveness

Score2

Highest-andlowest-rankedteamhealthdriversbasedontopteams,self-assessments1

Con?gurationAlignment

ExecutionRenewal

020406080100

44

Areasmosttopteams?ndchallenging(top5lowest-rankedteamhealthdrivers)

35

Innovativethinking

35

Psychologicalsafety

28

Conlict

management

25

Feedback

11

External

orientation

Areasmosttopteamsfeelcon?dentin(top5highest-rankedteamhealthdrivers)

70

Goals

68

59

CommitmentBelonging

53

Purpose

50

Communication

1Basedonteammemberself-assessmentsinsampleof28topteams.

2TheoverallTeamHealthNetEfectivenessScore(NES)istheaverageratingrespondentsgivetheirtopteamsacross17driversofteamhealth.NESiscalculatedasthepercentageofindividualswhogaveahighscoreminusthepercentagewhogavealowscore.

Source:McKinseyCenterforCEOExcellenceTopTeamEfectivenessDatabase

McKinsey&Company

Exhibit3

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow8

Selectfactorsemergeasthemostimportantdriversofteamperformance.

Teamhealthdriversbycorrelationwithteamperformance

Con?gurationAlignment

ExecutionRenewal

Healthdrivers1

Thedegreetowhichteammembers...

Correlationwithteamperformance(rvalue)

1

Rolede?nition

Understandtheexpectationsandresponsibilitiesofindividualrolesandhavetherightpeopleintherightroles

0.74

2

Purpose

Alignonaclearteampurposeandcanarticulatewhattheteamismeanttoaccomplish

0.73

3

Innovativethinking

Seekoutopposingperspectives,haveopendiscussionsaboutchange,andencourageout-of-the-boxthinkingandsolutions

0.68

4

Communication

Communicatesu代cientlyandefectively,andchoosetherightcommunicationmethods

0.67

5

Recognition

Arerecognizedforexcellentperformance,celebrateone

another’saccomplishments,andholdoneanothertoconsistentperformancestandards

0.63

Psychologicalsafety

Feelcomfortablemakingmistakesandtakingriskswithoutfearofnegativeconsequences,constructivelydisagreewithone

another,andproactivelyinviteoneanother’sinput

0.63

Note:Thecorrelationcoe代cientrisavaluebetween–1and1thatmeasuresthestrengthofcorrelationbetweentwovariables;theclosertheunitisto1,thestrongerthecorrelation.

1Otherdriverswithstatisticallysigni?cantcorrelation,inorderofdescendingrvalue,arefeedback,trust,belonging,meetingefectiveness,decision-making,conlictmanagement,externalorientation,goals,andcollaboration.

Source:McKinseyCenterforCEOExcellenceTopTeamEfectivenessDatabase

McKinsey&Company

Keydifferencesbetweenthetop-teamdatasetandthefull-organizationdataset

Howdothedriversoftopteamscomparewiththedriversofteamsatalllevelswithinanorganization,asidentifiedintheprevi-ousMcKinseyarticle?1Communicationandinnovativethinkingwereamongthetop

five—androledefinitionisalsoimportant—inbothdatasets.Trust,thetopattribute

Thenuanceddiscrepanciesbetweenthe

intheearlierresearch,didnotmakethetopfiveinourrecentstudy,butpsycho-

1“Go,teams:Whenteamsgethealthier,thewholeorganizationbenefits,”McKinseyQuarterly,October31,2024.

2Ofthe28teamsincludedintheanalysispresentedhere,amajorityofthecompaniesarebasedinAsia–Pacific.TherestarebasedintheMiddleEastandEurope.

3Aboutone-thirdofteammembersincludedinthesamplewerefromNorthAmerica.Formore,see“Go,teams:Whenteamsgethealthier,thewholeorganizationbenefits,”McKinseyQuarterly,October31,2024.

inthetwoarticles—thisarticlefocuses

primarilyonAsia-basedteams,2while

thesampleforthepreviousarticlewas

weightedmoretowardNorthAmerica.3Inaddition,thedatasetherefocusessolely

ontopteams(CEO-1),whereasthepreviousanalysisincludedteamsofalllevels.

logicalsafety,whichcanbethoughtofasahigherbaroftrust,did.Individualsmayfeeltheycanrelyononeanothertoperform

well(trust)butnotfeelcomfortablebeingvulnerableorshowingweakness(psycho-logicalsafety).

twodatasetsarelikelydue,inpart,tothe

differentgeographicalmakeupoftheteams

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow9

Driversoftop-teamperformancemayevolvewithCEOtenure

Ouranalysissuggeststhatkeydrivers

oftop-teamperformancemaychange

overthecourseoftheCEOtenure(exhibit).NewCEOsshouldfocusongettingrole

clarityrightandleveragingadiversemix

ofbothinternalandexternalperspectivesintheearlyphaseofbuildingtheirtop

team.Meanwhile,mid-tenuretoseasoned

CEOsshouldprioritizeinnovativethinking,communication,psychologicalsafety,andfeedback.Acrossalltenures,purpose

remainsacriticalfactor.

Exhibit

Driverswiththehighestcorrelationwithtop-teamperformancevarybyCEOtenure.

Teamhealthdriversbycorrelation(rvalue)withteamperformance,segmentedbyCEOtenure

Con?gurationAlignment

Execution

Renewal

Forearly-tenureCEOs1

Formid-tosenior-tenureCEOs2

(tenureoflessthan3years)

(tenureof3yearsormore)

Externalorientation

0.77

Innovativethinking

0.81

Rolede?nition

0.74

Communication

0.81

Purpose

0.72

Psychologicalsafety

0.77

Innovativethinking

0.58

Purpose

0.77

Feedback

0.74

Note:Thecorrelationcoe代cientrisavaluebetween–1and1thatmeasuresthestrengthofcorrelationbetweentwovariables;theclosertheunitisto1,the

strongerthecorrelation.

1Sampleis12topteamswithCEOswhohavelessthan3yearsintenure;otherdriversdonotshowstatisticallysigni?cantcorrelationwithteamperformance.

2Sampleis16topteamswithCEOswhohavemorethan3yearsintenure.Otherdriverswithstatisticallysigni?cantcorrelation,inorderofdescendingrvalue,aremeetingefectiveness,rolede?nition,recognition,conlictmanagement,trust,belonging,goals,decision-making,collaboration,andexternalorientation.

Source:McKinseyCenterforCEOExcellenceTopTeamEfectivenessDatabase

McKinsey&Company

Mindsetshifts:Thepowerofatop-teamjourney

OnceCEOshaveaclearunderstandingofthe

topteam’sperformance,theyneedtorollup

theirsleevesandworkwiththeteamtomakethe

requiredchanges.Thissectionprovidesadiversesetofreal-worldexamplestoillustratewhata

successfultop-teamtransformationmightlook

likeinpractice(Exhibit4).Eachoftheseexamplesfocusesonafewkeybehaviorsorattributesthatwereidentifiedintheprevioussectionascriticalindrivingtop-teamperformance.

Example1:(Re)definingthetopteam

OneleadingAsianpharmaceuticalcompanylackedacleardefinitionandstructurefortheCEO’stop

team.AhandfulofpeoplereporteddirectlytotheCEO,buttherewasnorealclarityoneachteam

member’sresponsibility,whichpreventedtrueaccountability.

Toresolvethesefundamentalissues,theCEOfirsttookastepbacktodefinewhatthe“rightteam”

lookedlike.Hestartedbyreframingtheteam’spurposeandcompositionaroundfundamentalquestions:Whatistheteam’smandate?Which

Exhibit4

Demystifyingtop-teamperformance:WhateveryCEOneedstoknow10

Buildingawinningtopteamrequiresdeliberatemindsetshifts,drivenbyastructuredtransformationjourneyandtargetedinterventions.

Examplesoftop-teamtransformationleversandtargetedinterventionsforCEOstobuildhigh-performingtopleadershipteams

Transformationlever

Keyshifts

Targetedinterventions

Driversoffocus

(Re)de?nethetop

From“ambiguity”to

?Rede?nitionoftopteam’scomposition,role,

Rolede?nition,

team

“clarity”inrolesandresponsibility

andresponsibility

?Annualretreatstoalignonprioritiesandclarifyeachmember’smandate

?Feedbackloopsandcollaborationmatrix

Purpose

Alignonwhattruly

From“competingagendas”

?Prioritizationexercisetocrystallizethe“must

Purpose,Goals,

matters

tocommittingtothesame“criticalbattles”

win”battles

?Deepdebateandrelectiononstrategicpriorities

Communication

Solvefortheteam’spsychology

From“l(fā)eadinginsilos”to“collectiveaccountability”

?Small-groupdiscussionasasafespaceforcandiddialogue

?Lettingtheteamdrivethemeeting(insteadoftheCEO)

?Leveragingtheteam’scollectivewisdom;ensureleaderscontributetoeachother’sdomains

Psychological

safety,Feedback,Communication

Buildtrustand

authenticconnection

From“hierarchy”to“trust

?Fosteringtheteam’spersonalconnections

Trust,

andempowerment”

throughdesignedinterventions

?“Cruciblemoments”dialogueonbuildingdeepconnectionsonleadership,personalvalues,

andmotivations

Psychologicalsafety

Source:McKinseyCenterforCEOExcellence

McKinsey&Company

decisionssitwiththisgroupcollectivelyandasindividuals?Whatrolesareessential,anddowehavethebest-fittalentineachseat?

Toensureongoingclarityandalignmentwiththe

chosentopteam,theCEOstartedatraditionof

annualretreats.Duringthesesessions,leaders

articulated,debated,andalignedonstrategic

prioritiesandwereencouragedtothoughtfully

definetheirindividualresponsibilitiesandmandatesinrelationtoorganization-wideambitions.

Tofostercollaborationandteamwork,