A new breed of top management team

Dr Ann Hutchison, Senior Lecturer in Human Resource Management, is partnering with consultancy Strategic Pay to investigate how the performance of top management teams can be optimised.

Top management teams present an array of unique challenges for chief executives. Issues range from group-think to too much fragmentation and intensive problem-solving.

Dr Hutchinson and Strategic Pay have interviewed a wide-ranging sample of chief executives and senior executives from across New Zealand. Early results show a new breed of top team emerging.
Chief executives are deliberately seeking a team that works as a fully integrated unit, smashing the silos that have traditionally characterised top teams. Some chief executives are beginning to structure their top teams in innovative ways to move away from those silos. They are finding creative ways to harness the diversity that is so necessary at the top.

Most CEOs in the sample also said they are far from where they want to be in the way their team is operating. They recognise that developing a collaborative top team can be a long process involving careful recruitment and selection, courage in restructuring and thoughtful team-building initiatives.

Results from the research will be released soon.