This article addresses a process – integrating the Barrett model, Wilber’s, & Scharmer’s work – for aligning top teams.
What makes the leadership of top teams? While it is the corporate board that is collectively responsible for promoting the success of the company by leading and directing the company’s affairs, it is the top-teams of divisions and business units of large companies that are more closely involved with the day-to-day development and execution of operational strategies. These senior executives are critical to the success or failure of a firm’s broader strategic objectives. Without their engagement and alignment, a corporation can become paralyzed. Top teams are critical for developing and executing divisional and business unit strategies. However, we often witness behaviors that are remarkably out of line with the pace of change in the team’s industry, the demands of the team’s stakeholders, and the needs of the team’s business units and employees. These top teams of the world’s best-known multinational corporations are often closer to being committees of people. These committees are typically a group of individuals who are successful in their own right, rather than a cohesive management team of people who openly and collaboratively address the daily challenges of decision making at the top. This factor significantly impedes effective strategy development and execution, and can lead to deadlock and paralysis.
