How to Build a High Performing Leadership Team for Sustainable Growth

Photo by Entrepreneurs' Organization

A leadership team cannot rely solely on charisma or subject-matter expertise. The best teams are structurally aligned, driven by data, and culturally cohesive, yet remain flexible enough to respond to real-time challenges.

Drawing on wisdom from a trio of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) members, here are three key strategies to help any leadership team achieve sustainable, scalable success.

1. Be Patient and Purposeful When Onboarding Senior Leaders

Greice Murphy, an EO Elumni via the EO Atlanta Chapter, knows why 50–70 percent of new CEOs fail in the first 18 months. Mere incompetence often is not to blame. Instead, rushed transitions, outdated onboarding processes, and insufficient preparation can cut a tenure short. How can you avoid early failures? Communicate the company’s purpose clearly: Walk incoming executives through the company’s history, values, processes, and norms. Also be sure to let your leaders build relationships and get a firm grasp on processes before tackling immediate business needs.

Another key? Promoting stakeholder engagement: Arrange formal and informal meetings with employees and other executives, which will help build trust early. Help them understand which board members or advisors have specific subject-matter expertise. This will lead to fewer missteps and more momentum early in an executive’s tenure.  

“CEOs often feel both excited and overwhelmed by the idea of leading a new organization,” Greice writes for Inc. “The first few months in the position serve as an opportunity to establish credibility and trust with the rest of their team. However, this can be difficult to navigate, and some leaders make poor strategic moves under the pressure of their new roles.”

2. Build an Inclusive, Authentic, and Mentor-Driven Leadership Culture

Tracy Marlowe is an EO member through EO Sacramento and founder of Creative Noggin, a marketing firm that prioritizes diversity of thought, mentorship, collaboration, and authentic leadership.

She says varied perspectives often fuel better decisions. Research suggests that diverse and inclusive teams make better decisions more than 80 percent of the time. Authentic leadership builds trust, which is often lacking in the workplace: A Harvard Business Review study found that 58 percent of employees trust a stranger more than their boss.

“While ‘being authentic’ can be an abstract concept, transparency, keeping your word, and operating in permanent alignment with core values are some tangible leadership practices that I havelearned can profoundly influence trust,” Tracy writes for Inc. “From company financials to life changes that may inhibit my ability to show up as my full self, I keep my team in the know, which fosters trust.”

How do you get there? There are a few specific steps that can build trust in the leadership team. Turn down clients that are misaligned with the company’s mission, for one, which places purpose above profits. Also create mentorship opportunities as part of the regular course of business. Above all, promote transparency by keeping your word and operating in lockstep with your company’s stated values.

3. Establish Scorecards to Track Progress

Eric Crews, an EO member through the EO Boston chapter and CEO of Crews & Co., says the business scorecard is much more than a numbers game: It holds team members and leaders accountable and helps clearly define roles and responsibilities.

In his preferred structure, each 90-day spreadsheet should identify the project owner, measurables, the target metric, and key dates along the way. Track metrics weekly to get clear feedback at every step of the process and determine if team members are positioned for success.

Color-coded scorecards can reveal whether key performance indicators (KPIs) fail due to individual inconsistency or poorly defined goals and development opportunities. Look for patterns in the scorecard to identify any misalignments as well as where team members are thriving.

“You can engage with a scorecard on a surface level, noting solely what’s been achieved,” Eric writes for Inc. “However, a more effective evaluation looks into the whys behind the outcomes. Strong scorecards push you to identify and measure the activities that truly power your business.”

When Structure Meets Spirit

Today’s leadership challenges — hybrid work, market volatility, talent scarcity — demand more than vision. They require the fusion of systems and soul. Scorecards ensure accountability. Mindful onboarding maintains cohesion. Inclusive culture builds loyalty and fosters growth. Together, these strategies deliver a leadership team that is resilient, approachable, and built to last. Invest in the business and the people: Sustainable growth is born at that intersection.

“Leadership is never easy,” Tracy writes, “but by encouraging authenticity, inclusivity, empowerment, and collaboration, I hope we can continue to amplify our impact on people’s lives while finding joy in our work.”