The Silent Killers: Overcoming the Hidden Barriers to Organizational Fitness   Describes a syndrome of six mutually reinforcing barriers to organizational fitness. A fit organization is one capable of effective strategy implementation, organizational learning and strategy reformulation--all necessary to achieve long term competitiveness and adaptability. These six barriers were identified as 1. Poor coordination across diverse functions, geographies and businesses, 2. An ineffective top team, 3. Unclear strategy and conflicting priorities, 4. Top down or laissez faire management, 5. Inadequate management/leadership skills, and 6. Poor vertical communication :Michael Beer & Russell Eisenstat :Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration & Wharton Center for Organizational Fitness :5/20/1999 :Article

When to Pull the Trigger: Individual Performance on the Executive Team   Of all the complex, sensitive, and stressful issues that confront CEOs, none consumes as much time, generates as much angst, or extracts such a high personal toll as dealing with executive team members who are just not working out. Embedded in the unique composition and roles of the executive team are the seeds of failure; it's virtually guaranteed that over time, a substantial number of the CEO's direct reports will fall by the wayside. :Mercer Delta Consulting LLC. :Mercer Delta Consulting LLC. :6/1/1998 :Article

Designing CEO and COO Roles   Over the past twenty years there has been a shift in the strategic distribution of leadership roles at the top of corporate organizations. With the increasing emphasis on the executive team's responsibility for governance, a need has emerged to more clearly define and structure the role of the team leader. The leadership responsibilities typically reserved for the chief executive officer have changed, and different leadership forms have evolved. :Mercer Delta Consulting LLC. :Mercer Delta Consulting LLC. :6/1/1998 :Article

Teamwork at the Top (Mercer Delta)   The pressing and complex demands involved in managing a large, modern enterprise are persuading more and more CEOs that the job is simply too much for any individual to handle alone. Instead, many CEOs are turning to executive teams as a way to extend their leadership and supple-ment their own skills and expertise. Yet, as attractive as they might seem, executive teams have a mixed record, at best. In recent years, we've worked with nearly 75 CEOs who have installed team structures at the top of their organizations. Some of these teams have been clearly successful; others have been frustrating, time consuming, and unproductive. It's apparent that the executive team structure, by itself, provides no guarantee of success. :Article

Teamwork at the Top (McKinsey)   Research shows that merely bringing in a new chief executive officer to reshape an organization has mixed results. In reality, long-term success depends on the whole leadership team, for it has a broader and deeper reach into the organization than the CEO does and its performance has a multiplier effect - A poorly performing team breeds competing agendas and turf politics; a high-performing one, organizational coherence and focus. McKinsey's work with many top teams suggests a straightforward process for enhancing their performance. :Erika Herb, Keith Leslie, Colin Price :The McKinsey Quarterly, Number 2 :6/1/2001 :Article

Optimizing your executive team.   Expert Janet Spencer discusses optimizing your executive team. 1. Overview, 2. How do I make my team the gold standard for team effectiveness?, 3. How do I let an executive team member go? Short, insightful video clips from an acknowledged expert in executive team design and function. Includes the Managing Lateral Relationship and Executive Teams Assessment Questionnaires. :Janet L. Spencer :Mercer Delta Consulting :Webcast

Executive Team Strategy Development   Offers a perspective on the role of the executive team in strategy development, a general overview of the principles to keep in mind when developing strategy and a set of steps to follow in creating a plan for the organization's future. Describes the strategic choice process, a method for strategy development, its underlying philosophies and the benefits an executive team can derive from approaching strategy development using this method. Reviews each major phase of the strategic choice process, highlighting main concepts and important dynamics inherent at various points in the process. :Spencer, J., Plunkett, D., Bliss, D. & King, L. :Executive Teams - Nadler, D., Spencer, J. & Assoc. Jossey-Bass, Inc. :6/1/1998 :Chapter