How to build and lead an effective executive team

1. It's a fact

At 11.30 on the morning of 28 May 1953, the first men stood on the top of the world’s highest mountain - Mount Everest. Overwhelmed with a sense of relief and exhilaration, Edmund Hillary and the Sherpa Tenzing, shook hands and threw their arms around each other. Fifteen minutes later, they began their descent.

But did you know that at one point, coming down from the peak, Hillary suddenly lost his footing? Tenzing struggled to hold the line tight, and managed to keep them both from falling by digging his axe into the ice.

Later Tenzing refused any special credit for saving Hillary’s life. He considered it but a routine part of the job.

As he put it: ‘We mountain climbers always help each other.’

People will always operate better as individuals if they consider themselves to be part of a well-functioning, supportive team. They’ll remain committed and loyal to the group if they adopt the attitude of mountain climbers - they always help each other. Teamwork is paramount.

And, importantly, the attitude of team members should always be: ‘I don’t care who gets the credit as long as we achieve our goals.’

2. Quotable quote

"A team is not a self-contained motor that continues to whirr smoothly as long as you supply the fuel. A team is composed of individuals in a dynamic relationship, both with one another and with their immediate environment."

3. Ask yourself

Members of an executive team (or in any group for that matter) can be rated according to their participation in the group. To determine your value as a member of a group with a problem to solve, consider your own involvement and place a tick in the relevant box: …