Do you have a high-performing senior management team?
This question was recently put to senior leaders at one of the region's premier businesses. Instantly, the majority of individuals sat up straight and without hesitation declared that they were part of a high-performing team. It was as if they were offended that anyone would hint otherwise, or even ask such a question.
Thena team member pointed to the company's latest financial results and operational performance: the revenue was growing but at the expense of escalating cost, and the company was losing market share to its main competitor. And there was confusion over future strategy.
Then, sheepishly, the senior leaders acknowledged that on the basis of those measures, perhaps they were not a high-performing team.
I found it interesting that they did not hesitate to declare their excellence when in reality there was noevidence to support the claim. A simple definition of a high-performing senior management team is a group whose members complement, and even complete, each other. They are also aligned and committed, and they work together to achieve superior results.
This left me wondering: how many teams think they are better than they really are?
The following scenario may ring true for your organisation. When a team member misses a deadline for delivering on an expectation, another is ready to point this out during a meeting. Or if the deadline was missed because a different team member failed to deliver his or her portion of a project, someone is ready to cite that deficiency as the reason for the team's failure to deliver - again doing so in front of the top management.
I repeatedly hear of these scenarios. I can point to examples of this from at least five senior teams I have interviewed over the past month. Each one has its own story of the blame culture or of people waiting until the next team meeting to point out that a team member did not deliver.
Whenever I hear of this happening, I always ask, "Prior to the meeting, did you know that your colleague did not complete what was expected?" Inevitably, the answer is, "Well, yes I knew."
I then ask, "Why didn't you go to him ahead of time and see how you could help?"
Is this how a team works together?
You do not wait until you are in a formal meeting and then point out the fact that another team member did not deliver. High-performing teams are proactive and focused on team success, so if members see a colleague falling behind, they act to see how they can help. The success of the team is more important than trying to look good in a meeting at someone else's expense.
Tommy Weir is an authority on fast-growth and emerging-market leadership, author of The CEO Shift and the managing director of the Emerging Market Leadership Center
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Rating: 3/5
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PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
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Investment: $1,275,000
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Barcelona 3
Messi (27’, 32’, 87’)
Leganes 1
El Zhar (68’)
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
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Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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At a glance
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Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
