One of the major roles of executive leadership is to build solid teams. Executive team building for results is grounded in knowing and understanding the direction of the team. The direction sets the stage for the purpose of the team and where the team is going. Without establishing a team direction you really don’t have a team at all. What you have is a bunch of individuals who are loosely affiliated but everyone goes off in a different direction. It is up to the executives to lead in the establishment of the team direction with the input of the team members. In addition, the leader will continue to communicate that direction to the team so that everyone continues to be on the same page. Let’s look at a few necessary steps to establish a team direction.



The first step for establishing a team direction is to decide what is the primary goal or objective. This goal or objective is the reason why the team exists. The goal should be an accomplishment that is specific, measurable, attainable and realistically high. A clear goal is essential for executive team building. If it is not specific, the team will never know if the goal has been accomplished. It if is not measurable it is too easy to debate as to whether the goal has been accomplished or not. If it is not attainable, the team will be frustrated with a lack of progress. If it is not realistically high, the team will not be challenged in going after the goal.




Once a goal has been established, the next step is to continually communicate with the team about the goal and the progress that is being made toward the goal. If the goal is a major shift in the way you normally do business, it may be a good idea to hold an executive team building event away from the office. The purpose of this event isn’t just to eat nice food and go white water rafting. The purpose of this event is to communicate, obtain buy-in, outline action steps and rally the team around going after the goal. Having a clearly communicated goal is essential if the team is going to go in the right direction.




It is not enough to just set a goal and expect it to be accomplished. There needs to be a process of follow up on action items as well as a process where the team reviews where they are in relation to where the target is. One way this can be done is to hold a weekly team meeting or team conference call. Besides evaluating the progress the team is making towards the goal, the weekly event serves as a plan, do, and review session. As a team you analyze what is working, what needs to be adjusted, and plan the action items for the upcoming week. Executive team building requires input from each team member to ensure the team is on track to meet the goal.




You cannot be effective at executive team building without setting a clear direction for the team. People need to know what is expected of them and have a plan of action so they know exactly what they need to do to reach their goals. Establishing a team direction is the best way to ensure that everyone on the team is on the same page going after the same goal.