Management Round Table

This past weekend I was invited to sit in on a mini executive round table - I know the COO of a private company and he asked me to sit in and just observe the management team - how they acted, reacted, attitudes, etc. The room had six couches, all facing eachother, it was very relaxed, everyone was open and I felt quite at home - I did know a few of the team members.

The group chatted about the organization as a whole, pros, cons, strengths, weaknesses - was a very good, very productive session.

Take away - every VP / Director was excellent at their job, their area of expertise but had no clue about any other function. When we talked afterward I was asked what it would take to get the organization to the next level. First things first - get each VP to starting learning more and appreciating other departments, functions, responsibilities. Getting the management team to be expertise to their staff but generalists among eachother was key. Every senior manager had to start learning more about the other departments so that the organization could grow from one base simultaneously instead of each department growing individually and some playing catch up.