People may come and go, but team ambition sustains

Challenge

When a new CEO started his tenure at a large technology company, he found a team that was not working well together, not taking a joined ownership for the company and not setting a high enough bar for the performance of the company. He also saw the potential for the team, and he knew he wanted to take his leadership team on a journey to become a truly effective team. He was hesitant when to start the journey as he considered it likely that not everyone would be part of the whole journey as he wanted to raise the bar for what it required to be part of the team.

Opportunity

Much to his positive surprise, the team welcomed the honest conversation he facilitated. Together they the aligned on the future ambition level and build a plan for achieving this new ambition. No one denied the situation they were in and their joined calibration of current although mediocre reality revitalized the team – many of them leaning in – in a new way – soon reaching different levels of performance. This team’s journey went on for 3 years with especially high intensity the first year. Over time several team members either decided to leave as the new way was not the right match for them, or were asked to leave because they were unable or unwilling to adjust fast enough, and new ones joined along the way. Initially, he was concerned that the changes in people would have been disturbing to the journey – but it was received as a natural part of the journey: people were leaving gracefully, and new members were welcomed warmly. The journey was the glue for the team throughout these many changes keeping them focused all along.