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Leadership Lounge: How to Build a Top-Performing C-suite: The Leadership Blueprint for Sustained High Performance
00:16:45
The C-suite is the engine room of organizational success, yet most leaders struggle to build one that truly performs. It's not just about hiring talented individuals—you need the right mix of complementary skills, aligned vision, and chemistry that...
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign welcome to the Leadership Lounge, a place to kick back and listen as our experts dissect some of the biggest questions leaders face today. I'm Emma Coombe, leadership advisor in our London office. And in today's episode, we're going to be talking about how top teams can become truly effective and help transform organizations. It's not just about retaining talent or attracting great new talent. It's about making sure there's the right mix, that the skills are complementary, there's an aligned vision, and that the chemistry really works. So how can you create an executive team that is set up in this way? In this episode, we'll explore the strategies that separate good teams from exceptional ones. But before we dive in, remember to share any burning questions you want our experts to answer by emailing redefinersrusslernolds.com we look forward to hearing from you. And if you enjoy listening to our episodes, leave us a review on Apple or Spotify. So let's dive in. We'd first like to welcome Danny Ryan, leadership advisor in Russell Reynolds Associates London office, into the conversation. Danny, welcome to the Leadership Lounge.
- [01:20]
B
Thanks, Emma. Great to be here. Really looking forward to it.
- [01:23]
A
So, Danny, the foundation for any high performing C suite starts with getting the right people in the right seats. And our 2025 Transformational Leadership Study found that 68% of CEOs said that they've restructured their leadership team in the last five years in response to transformation, making it the top action that leaders have taken. Danny, what are therefore the biggest mistakes you see CEOs make when building their executive teams and how can they avoid them?
- [01:52]
B
It's a great question. I think the big one that I see and warn against is really the risk of unconscious bias hiring people like us. You know, what you get really is this kind of echo chamber. And particularly at this time when there's a lot of ambiguity and uncertainty, you need that diversity of thought to drive decision making. Really, you have to ask yourself, am I hiring this person because I like them and they think like me? Or are you really going to empower the person who's going to ask the right questions at the right time that make you stop and think about what you're doing, particularly for the world that I work in. In biotech, organizations are scaling, they're changing rapidly. So you need that diversity of thought around the table. If you plow in one direction and everyone's in agreement, how much that really serve you going forward. So I think you have to be really thoughtful about those inflection points and the kind of experiences and points of view you're going to need as that company grows.
- [02:43]
A
I think, Danny, it's a fascinating point you make. And as you know, I do a lot of work in the boardroom and, and we talk about how homogenous boards can often feel the most comfortable for the people around the table. Everybody's agreeing. It's a very easy place to be in many ways, but actually boards are about having heterogeneous views about it being a bit uncomfortable because there really are a diverse range of opinions that are being shared and actually that creates a much more powerful setting. So it's fascinating that you're experiencing this in the hyperscaling world of biotech and, and equally it's pertaining to the boardrooms of this world. We'd now like to welcome our second guest, Andreas Gil, Cazares leadership advisor at Russell Reynolds Associates Madrid office, into the conversation. Andreas, welcome to the leadership lounge.
- [03:34]
C
Thank you, Emma, for inviting me to this exciting podcast and very happy to be here with you.
- [03:41]
A
So, Andreas, same question to you. What mistake do you see CEOs make when building their executive teams?
- [03:49]
C
One common mistake that CEO makes when building the executive team is to underestimate the impact or the cultural fit when making new hires. This is, I will say, the main thing that people need to take into consideration when they bring new talent to the companies. So we have been advising a client recently that made a mishiring. They hire a commercial director that didn't fit with the company culture, but instead the candidate has a strong track record and credential. Some of the key talent decided to leave the company because of that, because this person didn't serve compact values like honesty, teamwork, integrity, et cetera. So we cannot underestimate the importance of cultural fit.
- [04:42]
A
Thank you, Andreas. And clearly that individual didn't exhibit the right values, which would be a big issue for any business. I think we have to be a bit careful on cultural fit because it suggests that everyone has to fit into a norm. And actually, we often think about how important it is to have a diverse set of styles and approaches to make for an agile environment full of constructive debate, where the agenda moves forward. So instead of cultural fit, sometimes we would talk about having the right mix of behaviors and the right mix of psychometric profiles. So you have some people who are more disruptive in their approach, some people who are more pragmatic, some people who are more bold, some people who are more hesitant, and actually, by having that combination, you end up with a really powerful cohort. So We've spoken about how to hire the best executives for your C Suite. I also wanted to speak today on the importance of having executive hires who have what it takes to handle increasingly complex challenges in roles such as AI transformation, economic and policy uncertainty, supply chain disruptions, and geopolitical instability. While we know that organizational agility is critical to survival, our 2025 Transformational Leadership Study found that only 13% of C suite leaders strongly agreed that their C suite team has the capability to transform their organization in response to these new threats and opportunities. So, Andreas, how can leaders build executive teams that can drive transformation and are adaptable for future challenges?
- [06:18]
C
You need to find people that are interested in learning new things instead of just knowing things. This means that you will need to have people in your teams that are interested in asking questions to get out of their comfort zone and think outside the box. I will say that this is critical to have a resilient and adaptable team.
- [06:46]
A
That distinction between learning and knowing is brilliant. Andres and Danny, I imagine you see this learning mindset as essential in your work with biotech leaders.
- [06:57]
B
Yeah, so I totally agree with what Andres has said so far. You know, the curiosity in learning is critical, but so is knowing that you won't somehow be punished for making a mistake. You know, failing fast and reiterating is a crucial part of evolution. And you know, I've got one client who brings this mentality of we, we think of it in the morning and we do it in the afternoon. You know, you need people who then come with a particular kind of mindset and humility across the company is really, really required. You know, when you're tackling this kind of environment.
- [07:27]
A
I love the phrase about coming up with an idea in the morning and executing it in the afternoon. Danny. And having a C suite team who are constantly testing and trying new things is absolutely key in today's environment. I think we have to have use cases coming from the CEO, from the leaders where they've been trying new technology, maybe skipping several levels in an organization to understand where the innovation is sitting and how it directly impacts the efficiency or the innovation of the business that they're leading. That kind of hands on experience feels more important than ever now. To role model the right kinds of behaviors, we need CEOs who are transparent and honest about what is and what isn't working. How can CEOs create an environment where their C suite executives feel safe, to disagree, to challenge decisions, and to admit mistakes? Danny.
- [08:17]
B
So look, Emma, I'm a big believer in leading by example. I Think being able to admit your own mistakes and failures goes a long way. You know, no one's perfect. And leaders who do this authentically can help give others the permission to be more human too. It's a kind of superpower to me, being able to do that. You know, I love it. In a process, when we're hiring, the candidate says to me, here's what I did well, here's what didn't go well, and here's what I learned or would do again, differently, because those moments really show you exactly how that person thinks under pressure. We've really seen that, you know, that kind of self awareness in a tough environment leads to an open decision making process. And this kind of tangibly filters down through teams and really helps guide the behavior of other leaders as well to create that safety, you know, that environment where people can really sort of speak their mind. And again, that feeds into this point earlier around the diversity of thought. You know, people will open up and give you challenges in ways that you didn't think they could.
- [09:12]
A
That self awareness and honesty you describe is so powerful. Danny and we spoke a little on last month's episode on Resilience about just how important it is to talk about failures and what went wrong rather than sweeping it under the carpet. Now, for a C suite team to be consistently high performing, being able to make quick decisions under immense pressure is also pivotal. Andreas how can you foster greater collaboration and create an environment where quick decision making is valued in a top team?
- [09:42]
C
Emma to foster greater collaboration and decision making in top teams is essential to establish governance mechanisms and implement frameworks to define who recommends, who approves, who executes. It's really important to have this clarity in order to avoid overlap. Last thing that I would like to mention is that you need to train the people not only in developing hard skills like commercial, I mean, operations, et cetera, but also in emotional intelligence where an overlap or a conflict comes up. It is important to have the teams well trained to try to solve those problems. So this will make the organization more efficient. This will help leaders to make decision quickly and faster.
- [10:37]
A
Andreas I think this is a really key point that you're making. And what is so positive is that we're really seeing leadership teams invest quite a lot in terms of understanding each other's behaviors, understanding different responses that each other might have, and how best to face into conversations with colleagues, recognizing that people will react differently to different types of behavior. We actually did this exercise ourselves and the team that I'm part of last week, and it was really Fascinating. I had feedback ranging from I must give more body language to one colleague who will respond really well to that, to with another colleague holding my points of view back more, showing less emotion and allowing this colleague to show more. And it really just showed me within our team how different approaches are required to allow others to shine and be most effective. Now we focused on some elements that can ensure that your top team is maximizing its performance. There is one area which can be particularly delicate, of course, but can have a huge impact on performance. And that is when a C suite executive is underperforming or is no longer the right fit for where the organization is heading. Some leaders will of course delay these really difficult decisions. After all, these can be amongst the hardest conversations a CEO has to have. But our CEO transitions research found that the top regret amongst new CEOs was not moving fast enough on making changes to their top team. Andreas, for our last question in the lounge today, what advice would you give leaders who know they need to make a change to their C suite team, but put it off?
- [12:10]
C
So I'll say first thing is that if the CEO doesn't make quick decisions that may erode trust within the team, and this is very important, team needs to see a CEO who take care of the organization. Okay. And sometimes this means that you need to address talent issues. Okay. So for that I will say that you have, you need to have a clear communication, you need to have, you need to be empathetic, you need to provide feedback, clear feedback to the candidates. This is really important.
- [12:54]
A
You're absolutely right, Andreas. If a leader loses trust, it can be catastrophic. Our research in fact found that leaders that high performing organizations rated excellent or very good are over eight times more likely to display a high level of trust in their C suite compared to those at lower performing organizations rated fair or poor. You can imagine that trust becomes an even rarer commodity when there has been lots of change in the leadership team. So finding ways to accelerate that trust building I think is such an important use of time. But Danny, what's your advice for CEOs who need to make a change to their top team and have put it off.
- [13:33]
B
So this is a scenario that no one likes and where if it's done well or it's done badly, it's going to leave a mark on someone forever. I believe that the quick resolution is the best one because allowing someone to struggle ultimately hurts them, their team, the organization. So thinking about appropriate transition support for an executive coming in, development planning, really the thing that we're not good at and I feel like we should get better is around those conversations of what it, what is ahead and starting to plan for it early. So, you know, startup biotechs, for example, go through a whole evolution across the early science, clinical development and into commercialization. So you need to think about, you know, the skill sets that you need at those different places and how you have the conversation about evolution. You know, is there some way you can bring in an executive team member who, you know, you say when you come in, you're going to be great for this stage and this is what we need to do to get you through into that next phase, or equally talking earlier about a transition into another role, you know, because you want to set people up for success. So helping them have that clear view of where they're going and how that role is going to evolve and segue as the company grows is really critical.
- [14:45]
A
I think that's a super point, Danny. And one exercise that we're spending more and more time on is building future facing success profiles. So what does a role require in the future and what kind of skills and experiences does the individual need to have to be effective? And actually an incumbent can therefore sometimes realize that they're not the right person to drive onto this next stage and nor would they be happy. And then it can be much more of a calm departure and one where all sides feel good about it and actually the individual goes off with the very best wishes for the future, an excellent set of reference, and finds a role where they genuinely can meet its demands and feel really good in the position. And the best leaders I've worked with have regular fit for the future conversation. It does take courage, but it prevents those painful misalignments down the road and it actually helps executives plan their own career development more effectively. So our time in the lounge today has come to an end. In 30 seconds, this is what we've learnt. Avoid the echo chamber. Hire C suite executives who will challenge your thinking, not just complement your style. Balance skills with the right set of behaviors. You need both technical excellence and executives who amplify your values rather than undermining them. Create psychological safety where C suite executives can admit mistakes and learn fast. This transforms decision making, speed and quality. Address performance issues quickly and compassionately. Delayed decisions in a C suite can erode trust and hurt everyone involved. We really hope you enjoyed this episode and if you have any topics or burning questions you'd like us to cover in future episodes of Leadership Lounge, then do get in touch. Email your questions to RedefinersRussellReynolds.com until next time. Goodbye. It.