It’s leadership team offsite season. The time of year when leadership teams get together to plan strategy, work on budget…and maybe toss in a bit of team building.

Why is leadership team building often an afterthought? 

• “We get along.”
• “We don’t really have conflicts.”
• “We like each other.”
• “We all know each other well.”
• “We don’t have time for touchy-feely stuff.”

I’ve heard them all. 

Getting along and treating each other professionally is table stakes for leadership teams. But just getting along is a recipe for mediocrity. If your business can afford that, great!

However, most organizations want growth, innovation, scaling or transformation. Those aren’t achieved without discomfort, a bit of challenge, healthy debate and some tough discussions. If your leadership team is just getting along — or doing strategic planning the same way you’ve always done it — you’ll likely get mediocre results.

Your leadership team can get along, and have healthy conflict, tough discussions and a bit of discomfort. They can coexist and will make your strategic planning process more robust.