Building a Strong Leadership Team: The Key to Achieving Greatness

In the classic management book, "Good to Great" by Jim Collins, the author explores the success patterns of the greatest companies of his era. He argues that the first step to greatness is assembling the right team, or as he puts it, "getting the right people on the bus."

Early stage investors understand the significance of team, and they believe that if they back the right founders, the rest will fall into place. However, it's not always as simple as it sounds. As companies grow and raise more capital, the expectations on the CEO and their team increase, and it's crucial to have a strong leadership team to meet these expectations.

Unfortunately, many CEOs make the mistake of tolerating subpar leaders, when in reality, only great leaders will do. As Collins states, "good is the enemy of great." How can a company expect to achieve greatness and meet the expectations of stakeholders with leaders who are merely good or even mediocre?

The senior leadership team is the primary tool for the CEO to drive the company forward. Everything that needs to be done goes through them, and the success of the CEO is directly tied to the strength of their leadership team.

When a CEO builds, grows, and retains the strongest leadership team that their scale and resources allow, great things happen:

1. These leaders allow the CEO to work on the business instead of in the business, as they autonomously run the day-to-day operations.
2. They inspire others to be their best and create a culture of loyalty, engagement, and learning.
3. Great leaders attract other great people, and a strong leadership team becomes a magnet for talent.

In conclusion, it's essential for CEOs to regularly examine their leadership team and ensure that everyone is great and can continue to be great as the company grows. Building a strong leadership team is the key to unlocking greatness and meeting the expectations of stakeholders.