In just 3 weeks time we look forward to hosting the first in our annual series of half day Leadership forums for 2016.

Any interested person who desires to expand upon their personal power as a leader and build upon their capacity to utilize advance positive psychology skills is warmly invited to register to attend.

In the brief article below, we draw upon our 20 year consulting experience working with people seeking to develop their potential.

If the opportunity to participate in the upcoming Wednesday 3rd February Leadership Forum, hosted in a peaceful location halfway between the Gold Coast and Brisbane interests you, please contact us directly on ( 07 ) 55270123 for further information.

1. The spotlight is too bright.

Everyone in the workplace scrutinizes the team members’ every move. So does the competition. This does not encourage an environment of reflection or open disclosure.

2. Power dynamics can be ruthless.

Every decision made is influenced by desired workplace outcomes but also by how they affect the future plans of each of the members. Contributing to the complexity is the fact that the boss is both the leader of the team and the owner of the business.

3. Competition for the top spot is fierce.

Tension exists between the cooperation needed to work as a collaborative team and the implicit competition of people who are crowded around the door for promotion to their next position.

4. Superstar syndrome dominates.

The individuals on a senior leadership team are typically stars in their own fields. They typically have an excess of overconfidence about their abilities – along with poorly managed anxiety about how to deal with each other and the challenges they face as a team.

5. Leaders hold their cards close.

Common to most teams is the difficulty of establishing a climate that encourages transparency with each other in a way that enables joint work. As a result of the four roadblocks mentioned above, the pressure to avoid addressing team challenges and personal roles is particularly significant in senior leadership teams.

6. Managing conflicting roles creates strain.

Perhaps the biggest roadblock for effective senior leadership teams is the conflict inherent in playing multiple roles. For example, each head of a function is expected to maximize the effectiveness of that function. At the same time, the broader workplace requires that resources be allocated (money, time, attention, promotion, etc.) in a way that maximizes the benefit to the organization as a whole.

As a result of these major roadblocks, more and more senior leadership teams are seeking the support of experienced team coaches to improve their effectiveness.

Coaching individuals is valuable. Furthermore on those occasions where we also get the opportunity of working with the entire team, we can help a group move toward becoming a real team by bringing the hidden psychological dynamics out so they can be better managed.