getty
Co-authored with Grant Kersey.
Who and what is the Top Management Team (TMT)? This is a question I posed to over 30 Board and C-level (CEO, CMO, CFO, etc.) executives. In a prior article, I listed all of the responses I received to a simple question: “Define the TMT”. In this article, I share five key takeaways from the respondents.
Key Insights
1) Across the responses, there were five general dimensions included in the definitions:
(a) Descriptive characteristics of the people/team (e.g., the level, the size of the TMT, prior experience, functional background),
(b) Role (e.g., “direct the company,” “define/build/amplify culture,” “define mission – employees’ why”),
(c) The Work (e.g., hold organization accountable, engage stakeholders, build processes/ infrastructure, set a tone),
(d) How they Work (e.g., “exhibit humility,” “express will to achieve a cause bigger than themselves,”), and
(e) Their Impact (e.g., inspire/motivate employees, achieve business goals, meet/exceed objectives).
What is interesting is that almost no definition included all aspects – some individuals tended to focus on different areas. A comprehensive understanding of the TMT requires insight on all of these aspects.
2) Relative to academic definitions, the board and C-level leaders tended to include more insight on the last three dimensions—the work, how they work, and their impact. What I find interesting is how academics and practitioners think differently about these concepts. Academics have a birds-eye-view and can see a broader landscape. However, practitioners understand with greater granularity how the TMT works. Both perspectives are important.
3) The TMT are culture creators. While almost all definitions indicated that the TMT is comprised of senior leaders who set the direction/vision strategies for the company, a few also referenced culture – or the TMT’s role in defining, shaping, and setting company-wide culture.
4) The TMT owns company results. While either implied or overt, many of the definitions suggested that this is the group that has ultimate responsibility for the performance and business outcomes.
5) The TMT has a “boundary” with several definitions explicitly stated a boundary regarding what the TMT does and does not do. For example, Lara Abrash (Chair/CEO of Deloitte) suggested that the TMT is more than the organization’s highest executives, it is a microcosm of an entire organization and Harold Osborn (CEO McIlhenny) suggested that members of the TMT bring a balance of vision, drive, and leadership with humility, understanding, and empathy to the organization. Ramesh Ramani (Co-Founder/CEO ExpertusOne) suggested that a key part of the TMT’s role is to analyze opportunities versus threats and Doug Anderson (Founder, FPC of Dallas) suggested that the TMT is not a day-to-day management of tasks, but rather the balance of delegation and empowering others in order to free up their time to lead the company.
Join the Discussion: @KimWhitler
A special thanks to Grant Kersey, a former University of Virginia Men's Basketball manager, UVA '20, UVA M. Ed '21, and Research Assistant for the past year. He helped code and format the interviews and identify key insights.
