Presenter
Lawrence Levin
- How the major challenges faced by Leadership Teams today differ from those in the past
- The power of articulating the Senior Purpose of a team – what it is really FOR
- One Size does not Fit All – Defining the kind of Team we need to be
- Defining and Managing the Critical Intersections
- The Art of the Advance: How Good Teams Get Even Better
- Trust over Peace: Addressing and Resolving the Issues that Matter
- Focusing on the Now and the New
- Driving the Fierce Urgency of “Now”: The Need for Execution Excellence
- Building Relational Intelligence (RI) and Collective Intelligence (CI)
- The Person of the Leader: A Conscious and Deliberate Process
- Making High-Performing Teams into Top Teams
- Demonstrating Courage in the Face of Uncertainty: Top Teams in Tough Times
Key Takeaways
- 1.Top Teams must leverage their collective intelligence and operating experience to guide their organization's future.
- 2.Becoming a high-performing team is just the entry ticket for navigating today’s complex business world.
- 3.Researcher Lawrence Levin identified ten essential practice groups that elevate top teams above merely high-performing ones.
- 4.Executive teams have a dual responsibility to manage current realities (“the Now”) and the evolving future (“the New”).
- 5.The most effective leadership teams maintain their performance and drive results even under extreme stress and pressure.
- 6.Top Teams have the unique opportunity and obligation to steer their organizations through significant change.
The Modern Challenge for Executive Teams
Executive leadership teams today face a unique and demanding set of challenges and paradoxes. In a complex, volatile business landscape, old methods are no longer sufficient. Leaders must adopt new mindsets and thinking to drive success, navigating both immediate operational realities ("the Now") and the evolving future ("the New" and "the Next"). This requires a level of performance that goes far beyond traditional expectations.
Beyond High-Performance: The Rise of Top Teaming
While many organizations strive for a high-performing team, this is now merely the "ticket of admission" for competing in a complex and ambiguous world. The true goal is to achieve what Lawrence Levin calls "Top Teaming." This elevated form of collaboration is essential for leadership teams to manage immense stress and pressure effectively.
Leveraging Collective Intelligence
Top Teams carry a vast reserve of "Collective Intelligence" rooted in their deep, collective operating experience. They hold a unique position to exert significant influence over the company’s direction, focus, and performance. By effectively harnessing this intelligence, they can make a significant difference in the future of their organizations, turning challenges into opportunities for growth and innovation.
Ten Essential Practices of Top Teams
Based on extensive research and interviews with senior leaders, Lawrence Levin identified ten essential groups of practices that differentiate and elevate Top Teams from classic high-performing teams. These "must-dos" are the core differentiators that enable great teams to drive great results while others struggle.
How Leaders Can Apply This Framework
Leaders can use this framework to:
- Assess their current team practices against the ten essential groups to identify development areas.
- Balance short-term operational needs with long-term strategic innovation.
- Refine decision-making processes, improve communication, and ensure alignment across complex strategic initiatives.
- Shape the organization's future proactively rather than reacting to change.
This session explores the unique challenges faced by executive leadership teams in a rapidly changing world, emphasizing the need for new mindsets and practices to drive success. It delves into how top teams can leverage their collective intelligence and influence to navigate both immediate realities and future opportunities, making a significant difference in organizational direction and performance.
What you'll learn
- The distinct challenges and paradoxes confronting modern executive teams.
- How to harness collective intelligence and operating experience within a leadership team.
- The imperative for top teams to navigate significant change and shape the organization's future.
- Ten essential practice groups that differentiate elite top teams from typical high-performing teams, as identified by Lawrence Levin's research.
- Strategies for maintaining effectiveness and achieving great results even under intense stress and pressure.
Who this webinar is for
- Executive leaders and C-suite members.
- Senior management teams responsible for strategic direction.
- Organizational development professionals supporting leadership teams.
- HR leaders focused on team effectiveness and leadership development.
- Anyone interested in the dynamics of high-performing top-tier leadership groups.
Why it matters now
The landscape for businesses is more complex and volatile than ever, demanding that leadership teams not only perform well but excel in foresight and adaptability. The ability to navigate 'the Now, the New, and the Next' is critical for survival and growth. This timeless content provides the framework for executive teams to move beyond mere high performance to truly impactful leadership, ensuring their organizations can withstand and thrive amid constant change and pressure.
How leaders can apply this
Leaders can immediately assess their current team practices against the ten essential groups identified by Lawrence Levin, pinpointing areas for development. They can foster a culture that encourages strategic paradox thinking, balancing immediate operational needs with long-term innovation. By focusing on enhancing collective intelligence and influence, leadership teams can refine their decision-making processes, improve communication, and ensure alignment across complex strategic initiatives. This framework enables them to not just react to change, but actively shape their organization's future.
About this session
Key takeaways
Watching this webinar gives you grounded, practical perspective on Teamwork. Expect ideas you can use in leadership conversations, not abstract theory, drawn from Lawrence Levin's direct experience.
Who this is for
CHROs, HR business partners, talent leaders, executive coaches, organizational development practitioners, and senior leaders who are responsible for systemic collaboration inside their organization.
Why it matters now
Workforce expectations, hybrid work patterns, and AI-driven change keep raising the bar on culture and leadership. Sessions like this help leaders make smarter, more evidence-informed decisions about Teamwork.
How to apply it
Use the ideas here to challenge a current assumption on your team, design a single concrete experiment in the next 30 days, and bring one finding back to your leadership group for discussion.
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