Build a strong senior leadership team

For HR leaders and CEOs, knowing how to build a strong senior leadership team is not a question of performance; it’s a matter of survival. So if you have designs to survive and thrive in 2026, now is the time to prepare the leadership groundwork to ensure it happens. We know that having a cohesive leadership team makes good human and commercial sense. That’s because when the dynamics of the team are unsteady, the effects ripple across the entire organisation. Misalignment at the top trickles down into departmental silos, disengaged employees and ultimately, poor commercial outcomes. A fractured team sends mixed signals about culture and priorities, which eventually undermines confidence and productivity.  So how do you strengthen the team when the pressure is on?

The challenges our SMTs are facing

Step back and take a wider view for a moment. Our senior leaders are having to deal with the physical impact of digital transformation, manage hybrid and distributed teams, navigate changing ESG expectations and foster inclusive cultures. All while managing performance demands in a volatile economic environment. Competing priorities, conflicting personalities, unclear accountabilities and a fear of failure can lead to a breakdown in trust and collaboration. These challenges demand intentional, structured work on team cohesion and healthy personal behaviours.

Last quarter team to-do list for a winning 2026:

1. Build collective digital and AI literacy. It’s not enough to expect one tech-savvy leader to carry the load. As a unit, the team need to share a baseline understanding of AI, automation, data ethics and digital disruption. Without this, it risks fragmented strategies or poor oversight. 👉 Requiring: joint upskilling sessions, shared language and collective ownership of AI and tech decisions.
2. Align on purpose, ESG and inclusion. Employees, clients, regulators, investors and other stakeholders expect consistent messaging and action on ESG, DEI and ethics. Mixed signals from the top create distrust and disengagement. 👉 Requiring: aligning on a shared narrative, consistently modelling genuine inclusive behaviours and regular check-ins to expose potential blind spots with compassion.
3. Normalise constructive conflict. As complexity grows, debates will get sharper. Leadership teams must model how to disagree productively, air different perspectives and avoid cliques. Psychological safety at the top cascades down the organisation.👉 Requiring: explicit norms on how conflict is handled, deliberate practice in listening, debating and resolving differences constructively.
4. Create shared accountability for talent and culture. Hybrid work and retention pressures mean people leadership is everyone’s responsibility, not just HR’s. Every leader is a steward and guardian.👉 Requiring: treating culture and the way we respect people as a shared KPI. Each executive can be measured on retention, engagement and inclusion, not just financial results.
5. Develop a collective learning and development mindset. A learning culture has to start at the top. If senior leaders aren’t demonstrating curiosity, openness to feedback and commitment to personal growth, it won’t embed deeper in the business.👉 Requiring: group coaching, peer feedback sessions and leadership labs where they test behaviours together.
6. Prioritise cohesion in hybrid working environments. Leaders must maintain alignment when they’re not physically together. This means being intentional about how they meet, communicate and reinforce a shared sense of purpose. 👉 Requiring: structured rhythms, whether regular face-to-face meetings or virtual check-ins, along with clarity on what happens when physical presence is essential or not everyone is available to join decision-making.

What we’re aiming for is a shift from a collection of high-performing individuals to a genuinely interdependent unit. Success will depend less on hero leaders and more on collective capability. Essentially, it’s the ability to learn together, adapt together and hold each other accountable through higher levels of self-awareness and personal skill building.

Our seven steps for making it happen

Every organisation is different with varying needs, distinct characters, and its own structure and culture. So this is no hard-and-fast framework, rather an adaptable playbook for progress.

1. Assess strengths and skill gaps. Use diagnostics, 360° feedback and active listening to understand where the SMT stands.
2. Conduct interviews to explore what each leader wants to achieve personally and collectively from the process.
3. Workshop key themes to bring the SMT together. Discuss insights from the interviews and air shared priorities.
4. Develop a team charter. Agree on behavioural expectations and codify them in a clear, practical way.
5. Design new ways of working. Create structures and processes that support collaboration, decision-making and accountability.
6. Define individual commitments. Each leader then understands how they can get behind the new ways of working.
7. Review and refine regularly. Build checkpoints to reflect on progress, celebrate wins and adjust as necessary.

Final word

A broken SMT dynamic undermines culture and performance across the organisation. Learning how to build a strong leadership team requires clarity, intentional action and sometimes, outside help from a trusted partner.  By addressing challenges directly and following a structured framework, leadership teams can move from fragmentation to cohesion. For HR leaders and CEOs, this is not just about fixing problems at the top; it’s about setting the tone for resilience, adaptability, trust and the freedoms that come with psychological safety across the business. Recently, we worked through this process with a client and the result? A more cohesive, healthier team leading a more successful, profitable organisation. If you’re eager to build a strong senior leadership team so you can pull ahead in 2026, we’re here for you. Simply drop us a message and we’ll set up a friendly chat with Kerry.