Who's My Team? The Question Every Leader Should Be Asking
You’ve hired, coached, and developed them. You attend their team huddles, know their strengths and blind spots, and probably even know how they take their coffee. They rely on you. They’re your people.
But here’s the thing: they’re not your team…At least, not the one you should be thinking about first.
This is a mindset shift that catches many new (and even seasoned) leaders off guard. You rise through the ranks by building and leading a department, and then suddenly, you're expected to align with a completely different group: the leadership/executive team.
Many leaders believe their primary loyalty should remain with the team they manage. It's a natural instinct, and after all, that's where you've built influence and credibility. But once you're part of the leadership team, your “first team” changes.
And here’s why that matters:
Companies with highly aligned leadership teams grow revenue 58% faster and are 72% more profitable than their misaligned peers. (Source: Deloitte / LSA Global)
Misaligned Leadership comes at a cost, and not just to your bottom line! When leaders continue to prioritize their own departments over the broader leadership team, it creates silos. Decisions get delayed. Turf wars emerge. Trust erodes. And that vision of a unified company? It stays just that, a vision.
Why This Is So Tough for New Leaders
For new executives or leaders stepping into cross-functional roles, this shift can feel disorienting. You’ve been rewarded for departmental excellence, and now you’re asked to share priorities, negotiate resources, and sometimes even compromise for the sake of the greater organization. That can feel like betraying your team.
But here’s the truth: you’re not abandoning them, you’re supporting them more effectively. When leaders work together at the top, everyone downstream benefits from clarity, direction, and aligned decision-making.
Patrick Lencioni, in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, emphasizes that the executive team must be cohesive, aligned, and trust-based, or the organization will fracture beneath it. Leaders must shift from “my team versus your team” thinking to “we are one team”.
So, How Do You Shift to the Right Team? Here are 5 Tips:
Reframe Your Identity: Start by acknowledging, “My first team is the executive team.” Say it out loud. Coach your leaders to say it, too. This clarity sets the foundation. This doesn’t mean you stop caring about your department. But it does mean your loyalty, collaboration, and problem-solving must start at the executive table. Because when that team works well together, everyone wins.
Build Trust and Vulnerability: Without it, healthy conflict, commitment, accountability, and results are impossible. New leaders must invest time in getting to know each other, not just roles, but motivations, fears, and aspirations. How well do you know your team members?
Prioritize Leadership Team Meetings: If leadership team meetings are seen as “optional” or less important than departmental work, you’ve already got a problem. These meetings are where alignment happens. Show up, speak up, and listen.
Resolve Conflicts at the Top: Don’t let disagreements between departments filter down to your teams. Speak up and tackle them at the leadership level. Your people are watching, how you handle conflict sets the tone.
Get Coaching and Support: This shift isn’t easy, and it’s not always intuitive. That’s why leadership coaching and training can be a game-changer. Leaders don’t need more pressure, they need more support, more clarity, and more tools to lead and collaborate effectively at the top. Coaching for leaders improves team engagement by 39% and increases productivity by 21% (Source: ICF / PwC).
Strong Leadership Teams Build Strong Organizations
If you're a CEO or Leader reading this and thinking, “This sounds like my team,” you’re not alone. Many executive and leadership teams operate more like a working group of department heads than a unified leadership team. That’s not a failure, it’s a fixable opportunity.
At Move HR, we specialize in helping leadership teams come together, build trust, and function as a cohesive unit. Whether you’re onboarding a new executive, navigating change, or simply ready to up your leadership skills, we can help.
Let’s build a leadership team that’s not just at the top, but truly leads from the top.
Reach out to us at Move HR to learn more about leadership coaching, team development workshops, and strategic HR support tailored for your organization.
