The most effective leadership teams are the ones that empower their members enough to challenge one another but is cohesive enough that once a decision is made everyone falls in line.

It takes trust from each member to create such a leadership team. There needs to be a transparent environment where difficult situations are directly addressed and individuals are clearly held accountable.

Many mistake a “cordial” team as most effective. These teams tend to have non-confrontational members who are unwilling to hold each other accountable. Remember you need some degree of friction to hone a blade. During challenging times, these teams have difficulties making needed changes. They also tend to have collective blind spots that make the overall leadership team vulnerable.

A team that is too confrontational has its own problems. These leaders create dysfunctional work environments where trust is completely absent. Much of the collective energy is inwardly focused on internal conflicts rather than outwardly toward customers or competitors.

In my experience, more organizations suffer from a leadership team that doesn’t challenge one another enough. If this is the case with your leadership team then create better transparency within the group so that everyone is clear on how each member is being held accountable. Such an environment  usually provides the right foundation for everyone to give constructive feedback to one another because it’s clear what is supposed to be done and by whom.