Building and sustaining a new executive team

Team building is a circular process: the team learns, events happen, new members join and so onwards.

A linear process with a beginning middle and end does not match the reality of most executive team building.

I developed this model in response to a tender - and so I thought it would helpful to post it here.

It centres on asking a series of questions at each stage:

Weaving the history:

• Where have we each been until now & what past events have shaped who we are?
• What events and trends have shaped the organisation & wider context in which the team sits?
• How does the combined immediate past change anything in the team?

Assembling the learning

• What have we learnt about who we are and what we bring to teams?
• How has our organisation and wider context learnt how to behave towards our team?
• What theories about team work have we acquired?

Understanding the present

• What are the external challenges in the organisation and wider context we face as a team?
• What are the internal challenges we face as a team?
• What do we need to do to ensure our team is robust enough to manage the present?

Shaping the future

• What do we want our organisation to achieve?
• What kind of team will we need to build in order to nurture these achievements?
• What constant principles do we all need to work to as a team?

Making the future history

• What ways of working together do we need to establish to make the future happen?
• How do we negotiate our relationship with the organisation and wider context?
• What actions will make our chosen future historical