My leadership team is composed of brilliant, ambitious executives, but their self-orientation is incredibly high. They are constantly positioning themselves for individual bonuses or future equity payouts rather than working as a team. How do we redirect this self-focused energy into collaborative growth?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

When talented leaders focus primarily on their individual career advancement, bonuses, or equity payouts, your leadership team becomes a collection of independent contractors rather than a unified force. This high self-orientation destroys trust and creates an environment of subtle competition and hesitation.

To turn this around, you must actively work to lower their self-orientation and elevate their focus on the team's shared mission. Trust is built when people believe you have their interests at heart, which requires an other-focused mindset.

Start by changing how you measure and reward success. If your incentive structures only reward individual departmental metrics, you are actively encouraging self-focused behavior. Realign your compensation and bonus programs so they are heavily tied to company-wide goals and the successful execution of collective Rocks.

In your Level 10 Meetings™, actively practice sharing vulnerability. When leaders hear their peers speak openly about their challenges and ask for help, it breaks down the competitive posturing. Encourage them to use the Trust Creation Process: engage with each other's problems, listen without judgment, frame issues from a company-wide perspective, and commit to shared solutions.

When your leaders realize that the fastest way to achieve their personal and financial goals is by ensuring the entire team wins, their focus will shift. True leadership requires putting the organization's mission ahead of personal ego, and your compensation, communication, and team meetings must reflect that standard.