Running a business, much like raising a baby, takes a village. For CEOs, this means selecting the best possible people for the executive team. Surrounding oneself with leaders who can present new ideas, support a shared vision for the business and help shape a winning strategy is one of the smartest things a chief executive can do – but it certainly isn’t easy.
And it seems to be getting harder every year. Recent research by Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search firm, shows that leaders’ confidence in their executive teams has reached a new low.
The Leadership Confidence Index asks global CEOs, C-suite leaders, next-generation leaders and board directors to score their leadership teams on a 100-point scale against three pillars: capability, behaviour and issue management.
In the second half of 2024, scores for each of these slumped and overall confidence declined 1.3 points. Confidence scores have fallen in nearly every review period since the index was launched in 2021, which points to the challenges of an increasingly complex business landscape. From economic and geopolitical uncertainty to the pace of technological change and a lack of key talent, there are now dozens of reasons that businesses can fail or fall behind.
The best way to protect against this is to re-examine the leadership team and make sure that it is fit for this new reality. Here, 10 CEOs share the seven traits they look for when crafting the perfect team.
Trait 1: collaboration and communication
The ability to work together is one of the most important aspects of any leadership team, but it is currently an area where many are struggling. According to Russell Reynolds’ index, one in three C-suite leaders say they strongly doubt their team’s ability to work together effectively. These CEOs recommend taking inspiration from the sporting world.
If you’re managing a football team, you want to pick people who can play well together. It’s the same concept in business; you need people who are willing to collaborate and bring out the very best in themselves and others. That comes from having trust in the organisation and their colleagues.
Really good teams should work like cyclists in the peloton. Someone’s at the front leading the rest of the team and then they drop back to get protection from the headwind. Leaders cannot be front and centre all the time and that’s completely fine. Giving others a chance to lead can teach them about themselves and how they want to operate but it also encourages collective responsibility. All of us together are better than one of us alone.
Trait 2: diversity of thought and experience
Although the re-election of President Donald Trump has seen diversity, equity and inclusion policies come under fire, there are still many who believe diversity is critical to organisational success. Variety in background and experience among a leadership team can help members avoid groupthink, boosting creativity and fueling innovation.
I’m a great believer in the idea that everyone has a super strength. I just want to ensure that they have the chance to show it. First and foremost, I want enthusiasts. I also really believe in diversity of thought – I don’t need all team members to be alike. I need experts, but in different subjects. I want people to be able to learn from each other.
I always look for a little bit of weirdness. Everybody has something very unique and very specific that they bring to the team. I love working with people who have a hobby or a passion or something that is unique – it brings a lot to the team. I always look for this diversity and people who are very different to me.
It’s crucial to build a leadership team that has a range of experiences and expertise. Everyone can’t be the best at everything.
It’s important to have diversity of thought within the leadership team, but everyone has to share the same goal of driving the company forward. We need to have people on the leadership team who are driven to succeed if we are to keep growing the business.
Trait 3: A willingness to challenge the CEO
Diversity of thought is important but it’s only the first step. No leadership team will fulfill its true potential unless members are willing and able to speak up when they disagree with their CEO. Being challenged is rarely comfortable, but chief execs who wish to run the best possible business would do well to seek out people who aren’t afraid to express disagreement.
I want strong people with strong personalities. I want integrity and the instinct to always take pride in one’s work. I want confident people, but I don’t want them to be over-confident. They shouldn’t assume they know everything straight away; a willingness to learn is non-negotiable.
I am willing to listen to my team and would always encourage them to speak up. I want to know what I’m getting right and what I could work on.
As a CEO, I think you should always question yourself, asking: how can I improve? Leaders must challenge themselves, but also be open to challenge by others, particularly in their leadership team. Don’t assume you know everything – have lots of conversations with lots of people at all levels of the organisation. You don’t need to be surrounded by people who agree with you.
Trait 4: specific expertise and high-level skills
Every senior staff member must have the requisite competencies for their role, but when building an executive leadership team, savvy CEOs will look for true experts. Not only do they need peers who are the best at what they do, but they must seek to complement their own skills to ensure a well-rounded C-suite.
Because we built the business from the ground up, we brought in a lot of experts. Our technical director, Jason Dale, has worked on projects for NASA, and we believed he was one of the only people in Europe who could work out the vision system we needed.
Initially, you don’t really need leaders; what you need are phenomenal experts who are prepared to iterate and bootstrap the business. Having all the skills in-house also allows us to be more agile and create a bespoke experience – we’re not relying on third parties to iterate.
I make sure I’m surrounded by people who have qualities that can complement my skills and experience – there has to be harmony. But you also need people who are different from yourself, so they can bring their own expertise, talent and energy to the organisation.
Trait 5: adaptability and resilience
As the business environment continues to be dominated by disruption and uncertainty, CEOs need leaders around them who can rapidly adjust to changing circumstances and rebound from setbacks.
Good leadership comes in lots of forms but, for me, the key character traits are optimism and resilience. In my experience, people like to work for those who make them feel that tomorrow will be better than today and can help them get through difficult times.
I came to the US as a refugee from Ukraine when I was four years old and I witnessed the resilience of my family as they arrived in a new country with very little and worked their way up. People face challenges every day, having the resilience to keep going is what’s most important.
The best leaders are the ones that make their team feel inspired and empowered, whatever the circumstances, while still being held accountable. It has less to do with the individual and more about how they make others feel.
Trait 6: empathy
Emotional intelligence, or EQ, can be difficult to quantify. Nevertheless, demonstrable compassion and an understanding of what makes people tick can be major differentiators at a time when the right talent is increasingly difficult to attract. It will also make you a more pleasant colleague all round.
Understanding people and knowing a lot about them, personally, is key to my leadership style. So when I hire for my leadership team, I look for people who are really smart and experts in what they do, as well as being very empathetic and having a strong work ethic.
My number one principle for leadership is having high emotional intelligence and empathy. You have to really be in touch with what motivates people.
The best leaders I’ve worked for have been able to empower their teams, to allow them to make their own decisions and take accountability for the impact they have. They create environments where people can do their best work.
The best executives are talent magnets. They’re the ones that people follow from organisation to organisation. That’s a really important principle in terms of how you can bring the best talent to the business and evaluate who has the right leadership capabilities.
Trait 7: vision and strategic thinking
While it is the CEO’s job to set the mission and vision for the business, being surrounded by other leaders who can see the big picture makes doing so much easier. Hire leaders who look to the future and can be trusted to make decisions that align with the company’s long-term aspirations, as well as helping enact the strategy in the way they run their own teams.
As a leader, you need to be able to set the direction of the company and give a really clear view on where you’re trying to take it. You have to be able to communicate that vision.
Then you need to empower your team. You need to make it so they feel comfortable enough to come to you with ideas and to give their opinions on things. My team may do things differently from the way I do them; it’s important for me to be open to and understanding of that.
Finally, I think being a good leader is about removing barriers. What I mean by that is, if your people tell you they need something, whether it’s more time or resources, you’ve got to be ready to remove that barrier so they can get on with their job.
The main difference between a manager and a leader is strategy. This is something that can be taught and, essentially, means making the right set of choices to maximise your chances of hitting an objective.
You need leaders who can make the right combination of decisions – which can be challenging. If all we did was open venues, we would screw ourselves over by having a shitty product. If we only focused on perfecting our product, we wouldn’t have enough revenue coming in to support the team.
Running a business, much like raising a baby, takes a village. For CEOs, this means selecting the best possible people for the executive team. Surrounding oneself with leaders who can present new ideas, support a shared vision for the business and help shape a winning strategy is one of the smartest things a chief executive can do – but it certainly isn’t easy.
And it seems to be getting harder every year. Recent research by Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search firm, shows that leaders’ confidence in their executive teams has reached a new low.
The Leadership Confidence Index asks global CEOs, C-suite leaders, next-generation leaders and board directors to score their leadership teams on a 100-point scale against three pillars: capability, behaviour and issue management.
