Services - Success Stories

Building a High Performing Global Team

The Situation

The European-based investment team of a global financial services company was struggling to achieve top quarterly ratings for their investments. Even though the team had been successful in the face of challenging economic conditions, the company's U.S. headquarters realized they needed to identify new leadership and alter the roles and composition of the members to align more closely with the parent company's strategy.

What We Did

We conducted a comprehensive team assessment that identified the collective as well as individual strengths, challenges, and leadership styles/characteristics of the Investment Team.

Our assessment revealed that:

• Individually, team members were highly valued, and one team member had clear leadership potential.
• The team members shared more similar strengths and blind spots than is considered ideal for successful teams; in addition, they had not yet achieved the level of mutual trust and respect needed to build a truly high performing team.
• Skills viewed as critical to building an effective team - building trust, resolving conflict, initiating change, and making sound decisions - consistently appeared as challenges or blind spots.
• Cultural differences were a barrier to the team's success; in particular, this culture demanded greater direction, clarity of roles, and a more defined structure than was the norm for the U.S. headquarters.
• Personality and style differences among key members were limiting the team's effectiveness.
• Leaders at headquarters left roles unclearly defined, often made decisions without full or accurate information from the team or on a case-by-case basis based on the people involved rather than by setting a clear direction for the team aligned with the business strategy.

The Results

The company took decisive action:

• Several team members were re-assigned to other roles that were better suited to their strengths and interests (in all cases, members were consulted about the decision and provided with transition coaching prior to the change).
• Remaining team members participated in individual coaching to further build capabilities, individually and collectively.
• The new team participated in team coaching over a 12-month period, both in real-time consultation in their meetings and in separate team developing sessions.
• A team leader was appointed, with roles and expectations for all members clearly defined and communicated; the team leader participated in leadership coaching to accelerate his own learning, more rapidly develop the team, and achieve business results quickly.
• Over a 12-month period, additional team members were hired, with careful consideration given to hiring people with more diverse strengths, complementary styles, personalities, and experience.

The Outcome

Within a year, the team was recognized and rewarded as being one of the top performing teams within the parent company.

To obtain these results see our Executive Team Effectiveness Services.