The Value Senior Teams Bring
Is Determined by Their Character
Our research shows that senior team Character Reputation is a unique, significant predictor for an organization’s total performance. Quite simply, strong Character drives organizational ROA, engages employees more fully, and mitigates risk.
We now know that the value senior teams bring to an organization is determined by both their Character and their business skill sets. The business results achieved through this combination represent the organization’s Return on Character® (ROC).
Organizations led by senior teams with a strong Character Reputation average an astonishing ~5x greater return on assets (ROA) and 26% higher workforce engagement than those led by Low Character senior teams. They also show lower levels of corporate risk, as measured by audit fees and legal events.
How We Work
We work with teams to get both an internal and external view of team health. Is the team accelerating or suppressing the organization’s ability to achieve business results?
We begin with a team dynamics survey to understand the current functioning of the team and where the dynamics among the team members are helping or harming business. This is followed by our multi-rater Return on Character® Leadership Assessment to understand the impact of the conditions that the team is creating to deliver business results.
We don’t give teams a long list of things to change—just the one behavior—the Keystone Habit—that if they all focus on will reshape their reputation and increase their effectiveness. This one habit creates cascading benefits in other areas such as financial performance, innovation, risk mitigation, collaboration, business skills, and employee engagement. Along with the team and individual work with senior leaders, we offer cascading “small bits” of learning about how who you are is more important that what you’ve been trained to do. Over time, the effect of this cascading creates a different culture—a climate that has gradually replaced the former negative and energy-draining culture.
Our four-phase Senior Team Elevation Platform (STEP) begins with the Benchmark Phase. We assess the team’s capacity to create optimal conditions for a highly engaged workforce to execute brilliantly on the vision and strategy and to achieve a positive Return on Character® for their organization.
Discovery Phase
The Discovery Phase guides senior leadership through the results of their benchmark data and Character assessments. Our proprietary Predictive Possibilities® tool identifies the highest leverage opportunities that will make the most difference in the team’s ability to improve the organization’s bottom line. By understanding the individual and collective Character dimensions that drive the most value, teams can home in on the one behavior—their Keystone Habit—that will have the greatest impact and will result in cascading benefits in other areas of risk mitigation, collaboration, observed skills, and employee engagement.
Discovery includes a full analysis of benchmark data and open-ended comments, culminating in a facilitated discussion between our executive development experts and the senior team to address the results and craft a data-driven action plan with the highest probability to improve your organization’s performance.
We will work together to establish goals and KPIs for the team and each participant. These will focus the team’s ongoing work, and senior KRW consultants will check in with each team member periodically.
Elevation Phase
The Elevation Phase is the support strategy to gain sustained behavioral change.
This period is critical to maintaining momentum, tracking key business KPIs with custom dashboards, and igniting change. KRW partners with clients in a number of ways depending upon each team’s Keystone Habit(s), greatest challenges, dedicated commitments, and internal resources.
We also help senior teams with ongoing customized support activities, including:
- Quarterly team coaching
- CEO coaching & support
- Designing & supporting peer coaching networks
- Pulse checks
- Senior team member coaching
- HR partner masterclass and strategic support
- Character-led leadership development programs for next management layer
- Additional cascading tools (e.g., train-the-trainer, online learning journeys)
Return Phase
From the beginning, we establish with you baseline and goal KPIs and early indicators. Through the process we take pulse checks at intervals that benefit the business and/or customer relationships. We track it all along the way so that we can measure your Return on Character®.
Challenges We Address
- New team leader and/or new team
- Post M&A integration
- Team and leader misalignment
- Silos and isolation
- Lack of trust or engagement
- Crisis management
- Reorganization
- Mindset changes
- Building new teams
- Strategy and execution obstacles
As a direct result of using the process to help us through a major challenge, we doubled revenue, pushed customer retention to near 90%, and grew customer satisfaction by 20% over the next three years.
CEO
Healthcare Technology Provider