By Priscilla Luzader Pipho

Leadership Focus Drives Change

Once you have aligned your vision and organization, the next step is to look at your leadership focus, starting with your leadership team. Does the team embody the vision and values and demonstrate them accordingly? When the leadership team is aligned and focused, the members become the pipeline to the rest of the organization. The leadership team drives the culture by the behaviors they model and reinforce. The team should be developed and nurtured to maintain balance between relationships and results. Between will and skill. A leadership team that consistently communicates organizational values can be counted on to lead to excellence. 

When a leadership team is out of sync, the rest of the organization can sense it. There may be a difference of opinion between division leaders and executives that is shared with staff. An unconscious, off-the-cuff comment that leaders don’t support a policy change and you’re starting down the slippery slope. Uncommon? Not at all. Corrosive to culture? Absolutely. It’s a sign that leadership needs to refocus on what values you want to reinforce.

Team Synergy

Creating synergy on your leadership team is likely to require some effort. Some teams that assemble find chemistry that blossoms and motivates quickly; the rest of us have to work at it. But when you get it, you know it. Here are some suggestions to help you get the mojo back for your team:

1. Define your values together – Every leadership team is unique, so take the time to revisit the values of the company. If you can’t all get behind the values, can you modify them? As you begin talking about what you stand for, your commitment to the company is reinforced to pass on to those you lead. 
2. Develop accountability and trust – If the leadership team has a high level of trust, they will work together more seamlessly, and the result is less time spent on explaining and more on executing. The team needs to be cohesive to bring the rest of the organization along. Remember that accountability to these principles is essential to build credibility throughout the organization. 
3. Communicate priorities – Develop the common theme and language of what the organization stands for and communicate consistently. The language you use should be similar when communicating internally as we well as with external stakeholders. Make it easy for everyone to understand. 
4.  Build leadership skills – To drive a culture of excellence, train it. Teach the skills and values necessary to become successful within the organization and reinforce it. Build values into your people systems. Start a leadership series over lunch and have each executive teach one class a month. You’ll reinforce the values you stand for and develop expectations for upward mobility.
5. Repeat to sustain. Don’t think of this as one-and-done. Nurture the leadership team in periodic training and offsite retreats and continue the dialogue about how you are leading your organization. Make sure new team members are given the chance to integrate into the team culture and understand that the dynamics of a team are affected by each member. 

The truth is that as leaders we have great influence in guiding our organizations, and when we focus that influence, there’s no limit to what we can achieve.