Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin have helped teams around the world adopt more modern ways of working and on At Work with The Ready they’re sharing the inside scoop with you, too. Whether you’re struggling with a carousel of ineffective meetings, annual strategy sessions that go nowhere, or decision-making churn that never ceases, they’ve seen it all and are here to help. In each episode, they'll break down common workplace challenges and show you the moves—both big and small—to start making real, lasting change. (Formerly “Brave New Work” with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans)
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Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin have helped teams around the world adopt more modern ways of working and on At Work with The Ready they’re sharing the inside scoop with you, too. Whether you’re struggling with a carousel of ineffective meetings, annual strategy sessions that go nowhere, or decision-making churn that never ceases, they’ve seen it all and are here to help. In each episode, they'll break down common workplace challenges and show you the moves—both big and small—to start making real, lasting change. (Formerly “Brave New Work” with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans)
30. Extended Leadership Teams: Set Up to Fail Yet Expected to Lead
At Work with The Ready
40 minutes
4 months ago
30. Extended Leadership Teams: Set Up to Fail Yet Expected to Lead
The extended leadership team (those just below the C-suite) often finds itself stuck between translating strategy and triaging dysfunction. They’re tasked with cross-functional execution, but are rarely equipped, empowered, or aligned to pull it off. And in most organizations, this group is caught in a cycle of managing up, managing down, and managing chaos all around—with very little time or clarity left to lead.
This week, Rodney and Sam take a closer look at what’s really going on with extended leadership teams, why they matter so much, and what gets in their way. From power dynamics and peer competition to vertical incentives and missing cross-functional glue, they pull apart the system that makes this group so hard to organize—and so critical to transformation. They also share field-tested tactics that can turn this underutilized layer into an OS-upgrading powerhouse.
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Mentioned references:
Fruit Roll-Ups
leadership teams org design ep: AWWTR Ep. 13
Sunshine Zone: Depthfinding Ep. 3
Basecamp (aka 37signals) and managers
Haier and managers
Twilight Zone: Depthfinding Ep. 4
mission-based teams (MBTs): FoHR Ep. 1
Jason Fried & "company as the product"
00:00 Intro + Check-In: What is one of your favorite low tech work hacks?
02:53 The Pattern: The extended leadership team is trapped between strategy and execution
05:17 The C-suite’s peace comes at the expense of chaos in the extended leadership team
09:04 Silos and competition between departments
12:52 Functions don’t truly understand what other functions contribute
15:40 The true work of the extended leadership team
21:40 External pressure on GenX and Millenial leaders reinforces the status quo
27:56 Idea 1: Identify shared purpose of your extended leadership team
30:45 Idea 2: Top missions for cross-functional leadership teams
35:21 Idea 3: Chartering a leadership team “role” for shared participation and ownership
37:52 Wrap up: Leave us a review and share the show with your colleagues
Sound engineering and design by Taylor Marvin of Coupe Studios.
At Work with The Ready
Rodney Evans and Sam Spurlin have helped teams around the world adopt more modern ways of working and on At Work with The Ready they’re sharing the inside scoop with you, too. Whether you’re struggling with a carousel of ineffective meetings, annual strategy sessions that go nowhere, or decision-making churn that never ceases, they’ve seen it all and are here to help. In each episode, they'll break down common workplace challenges and show you the moves—both big and small—to start making real, lasting change. (Formerly “Brave New Work” with Aaron Dignan and Rodney Evans)
