By : Dan Finnigan

Your executive team helps you run the company--but it's your job to make that team successful. How can you get it right?

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While most CEOs know that effective leadership requires the help of a solid executive team, assembling that team can be tough. You need experts who can guide operations across key areas of the business, but you also need people who are capable of providing strategic and thoughtful counsel to each other--and this is where things can get tricky. Why? Because you're not only looking for individuals with superior skills, you're also trying to create a functional and productive team dynamic. Unfortunately, you can't pinpoint personalities on a resume, and it can be extremely challenging to predict how people will interact in a group.

So how can you find folks who will fit the bill?

Start by looking for people who complement you. I've always found that great leaders are "self-aware" people. They know how they work best, where their strengths lie, and where they might benefit from a new or fresh perspective. Take stock of yourself. What personality traits and/or business skills would best complement your own assets? You need people who see the world differently than you do, so you consistently have an opportunity to learn and craft new strategies. If you have a tendency to make safe choices, for example, look for someone with a history of taking good risks. Conversely, the worst mistake a young, ambitious, "idea-a-minute" CEO can do is to surround herself with just that--functional leaders who most enjoy brainstorming new ideas. Instead, she needs executives capable of slowing her down a bit--at times--to take a deeper, analytical look.

At the same time, look for people who balance each other's temperaments and working styles. You might have heard of the psychology concept "groupthink," where a group of people can get so set on agreeing with each other or on reaching consensus that, rather than entertain a dissenting opinion, they end up making irrational or even catastrophic decisions. While there are a number of ways you can work to avoid this outcome, I think one of the most fundamental is to populate your exec team with diverse dispositions and specialties. Try to create a balanced mix. You don't want an abundance of "people" people who get most of their energy from social interactions, nor too many quiet introverts who like to work by themselves. You can't have too many mathematical minds nor too many creative poets. You need people who challenge each other and generate a wealth of different ideas. Sure, you want to reach consensus--but never at the expense of the most optimal or innovative option.

Look for people who will speak up without getting riled up. Avoiding groupthink also requires that you provide a space for dialogue--even when the discussions are difficult to have. After all, running a business involves balancing competing forces. You want to invest for the company's growth, for example, but you also have to achieve profit and good solid cost margins. You want to do what it takes to please customers, but you also have to hit budget targets. Your executive team should include people who can passionately represent these competing forces--not because they want to be right, but because they understand that tension can spark inspiration. Get enough voices offering insight, and you might find a way to invest and save money at the same time! You might discover a way to boost customer satisfaction without impacting the budget. You need people willing to continuously innovate around problems, who are comfortable with conflict, and who are open to challenging the status quo. On our team we call these "crunchy" conversations and as a team, we know they are necessary to root out the truth.

In my experience, the best executive teams are those that are both focused on meeting objectives on a timely basis and also passionate about devising new strategies--great at creating accountability, but comfortable taking risks. When you ensure a balanced mix of expertise and personality traits, you'll foster a healthy environment for making more informed decisions and leading the company to greater successes.

What do you think? Is this something you can benefit from or do you have a few tricks up your sleeve that are just as powerful? Make your voice heard by leaving a comment below. Don’t forget to hit the share button if you know others who will find this post useful.

I.C. Collins ~ Author, Educator, Trainer and President: Has One Simple Goal: Improve a Million Automotive Sales Consultants Lives with our ebook "How to Succeed in the Automotive Sales Industry"

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