An HR leader at a major firm recently observed a critical truth: despite their executive team's high individual competence, an offsite and guiding principles were essential to forge a stronger collective identity, according to Egon Zehnder. This intentional intervention addressed a common organizational oversight: assuming that a group of high-performing individuals will naturally function as a high-performing team.
While individual leaders may possess strong capabilities, their collective teams often lack the cohesion and shared vision necessary for true resilience. Organizations that proactively invest in fostering collective team identity and purpose, beyond individual skill development, are better positioned to withstand future challenges and achieve sustained high performance.
Key Strategies for Unlocking Team Resilience
1. Creating a Stronger Team Identity and Guiding Principles
Best for: Executive teams struggling with cohesion or new leadership configurations.
An executive team, despite high individual competence, required an offsite and guiding principles to build a stronger collective identity, according to Egon Zehnder. A shared vision is not an inherent individual trait but a collective outcome demanding deliberate construction.
Strengths: Fosters deep alignment and shared purpose | Limitations: Requires significant time investment and commitment from all members | Price: Moderate (offsite costs, facilitator fees)
2. Focusing on Collective Leadership Team Development
Best for: Organizations aiming to improve overall business outcomes through leadership synergy.
CHROs recognize that collective leadership team performance directly drives business outcomes. The team is developed as a single unit, aligning leadership efforts to enhance organizational performance.
