Services - Success Stories

An Executive Team Challenged in Retaining Market Leadership Role

The Situation

Following entry into the Japanese market, a U.S.-based services firm was challenged in the ongoing management of the rapid growth that resulted when they assumed the role of market leader. The firm recognized a need for outside assistance to solidify the strengths of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT).

What We Did

We conducted an on-site assessment to identify collective as well as individual strengths, challenges, and leadership styles/characteristics of the SLT and found:

• The SLT was an established, cohesive group with effective working relationships, which had successfully leveraged individual members' strengths for the entry into the Japanese market.
• Collectively, the team's strengths and styles had been well suited to the start-up phase of the business; however, their individual and collective profiles were less suited to building and aligning processes and procedures for sustainable growth.
• The firm's senior leaders had overlooked the degree to which language and cultural differences were affecting the SLT's interactions and efficiency; they often avoided conflict, leaving key issues unresolved.
• The team was overly homogeneous in styles and personalities.
• There were important leadership capability gaps at the next-level down, with no one emerging as potential successors.

The Results

• Following team and individual coaching, the SLT demonstrated significant improvement in their communications; their discussions were more effective and comprehensive as they increasingly identified and managed conflict while exploring each other's perspectives fully.
• While in the past team members had primarily "led with their strengths," each member acknowledged his/her own challenges and implemented individual as well as collective plans for development.
• The Senior Leadership Team partnered with the parent company to:
  • Re-evaluate their strategy and structure to chart a new direction for the group with the objective of achieving more sustainable growth while retaining their market leader role
  • Implement processes for building capability at the next level
  • Launch a three-year succession plan to groom a successor for the CEO

The Outcome

Within 18 months, the organization appointed a new CEO, two of the next-level leaders were promoted upon achievement of their development objectives, and the Senior Leadership Team as a whole grew to accommodate the new state of business - from emerging market to growth - in a process that became the model for developing future growth market teams.

To obtain these results see our Executive Team Effectiveness Services.