Senior Leadership Team Performance – A Reality Check
Research consistently shows that most senior leadership teams underperform.
Across multiple studies, only around 20–37% of SLTs are considered high-performing. The remainder face issues such as misalignment, low trust, poor communication, and unclear purpose.
Notably, only 8% of executives believe their leadership team and the wider organization are both effective — underscoring a critical opportunity for improvement in leadership team design and development.
Key Statistics Summary
1. McKinsey & Company (2021)
- Only 8% of executives believe both their SLT and the broader organization are effective.
- Just 37% describe their SLT as “high performing.”
- Common underlying issues highlighted include lack of trust, poor alignment on strategy, and lack of clarity on roles.
2. Harvard Business Review / Wageman et al. (2008)
- Only 21% of SLTs are rated as high performing.
- 79% fall short, primarily due to undefined team purpose, poor team design and governance, inadequate leadership.
3. Gartner (2023)
- Just 25% of SLTs are effective in executing strategic priorities.
- Over 50% of teams report misalignment, low trust, ineffective collaboration.
4. Center for Creative Leadership (2020)
- In a study of over 100 executive teams: 30% lacked a clear, shared team purpose.
- Over 50% were unclear on how their collective work added value to the business.
5. Ken Blanchard Organisation (2013)
- 4% of organisations have a “good plan” that is “executed well”.
Implications for Organisations
The gap between SLT potential and performance is both significant and addressable.
Investing in SLT development through team coaching, improved structures, clarified purpose, and better communication can yield:
- Stronger alignment
- Faster strategic execution
- Healthier organisational culture
Conclusions
- SLTs rated high performing: 21–37%
- SLTs misaligned, low-trust, or lacking purpose: 50–80%
- Executives who rate both the team & organisation as effective: 8%
- SLTs effective at developing and executing strategy: 4%
Next Steps
- Conduct a diagnostic of SLT performance: alignment, trust, clarity of purpose.
- Facilitate an offsite to reset direction, roles, and behaviours.
- Set up regular sessions to strengthen the team and stay focused on key priorities.
It’s shocking
The stats are not new. They’ve been consistent for over a decade.
- Only 1 in 20 leadership teams execute strategy well.
- Just 1 in 5 leadership teams are rated as high performing.
- Barely 8% of executives believe both their team and wider organisation are effective.
That’s not the shocking part.
What’s shocking is how well known findings such as these are and yet how little has changed.
It’s an inconvenient truth that many businesses simply accept mediocrity at the top as a given.
If a frontline team performed this poorly, there would be urgent action. But at the senior level? We often look the other way or assume the problems are too political or too personal to tackle.
I’ve pulled together the research into a short briefing. Not to point fingers, but to start a more honest conversation about what is holding senior teams back and what to do about it.