THOUGHT LEADERSHIP ARTICLES

In any high-performing executive team, you are dealing with Titans—individuals with immense drive, significant track records, and, inevitably, high levels of ambition. Many board members are constantly watching the career clock, eyeing the top job with intensity.
When ambition is left unmanaged, the boardroom shifts from a place of collective strategy to a theatre of individual agendas. The result? A lack of cooperation trickles down, creating silos and stalling organisational growth.

Middle managers are often treated as a people issue. A morale issue. A training issue. A nice-to-have development issue.
But for CFOs, COOs and HR leaders, the real question is sharper: what does an under-supported middle manager actually cost the business?

Middle managers usually don’t announce that they are overwhelmed. They keep attending the meetings, answering the emails, fixing the problems and protecting their teams. From the outside, they may look busy but in control. That is why many businesses miss the warning signs.

In many Australian boardrooms, there is an unspoken rule: certain things simply aren’t talked about. Famous management psychologist Adrian Furnham calls this the “Conspiracy of Silence.” It’s a survival mechanism where powerful adults avoid uncomfortable emotional issues—like succession planning, interpersonal friction, or a CEO’s “dark side” traits—by simply pretending they don’t exist.
But for a high-stakes executive team, silence isn’t golden. It’s expensive.

In many organisations, being invited to the Top Team is seen as the ultimate badge of honour. It is a symbol of power, prestige, and being in the room where it happens. Consequently, leadership teams often expand as a matter of political courtesy rather than strategic logic.
But as the table gets longer, the leading gets harder. Everyone wants a seat, but few bring the necessary strategic focus. When a team becomes too large, it stops being an executive engine and starts becoming a collection of factions.