The Most Overlooked Relationship in Senior Leadership
Sep 12, 2025
Most Companies Are Missing the Point. Here’s Why It Matters.
Very few people get the chance to sit in a room with a company’s most senior leaders while they discuss what’s holding them back. I’ve had that privilege more than once.
And what I’ve seen, time and again, is this:
Most organisations are sitting on untapped value—and don’t even realise it.
Let me explain.
A global company with 50,000 employees brought together its top 80 leaders to figure out what needed to change in the next decade. On paper, this sounds like leadership at its best. But in reality, it exposed the very problem they were trying to solve.
The group spent hours talking about their frustrations—especially with the Executive Board (EB), who weren’t even in the room.
What happens next isn’t unusual:
The conversation turns into organisational theatre.
Smart people saying smart things… that go absolutely nowhere.
Eventually, a few EB members joined for the final hour. But what unfolded made it painfully clear why things weren’t moving. One of them showed little emotional awareness, and no one felt safe enough to say what really needed to be said:
“This relationship is the real issue.”
I don’t believe that relationship was broken. But it was damaged enough to make me wonder if that company will even exist in 10 years.
And this is not a one-off story.
I’ve seen other companies face the same breakdown—but choose to address it. When they did, things shifted. The change was visible. In one case, it showed up directly in the share price.
The Cost of Avoiding the Real Conversation
Companies spend millions on leadership development.
People go off to business schools. Offsites are planned.
Workshops are delivered.
But what often gets missed?
The single most important relationship in the company:
The dynamic between the Executive Board and the next tier of leadership.
And here’s the pattern I see over and over:
Development is optimised for the comfort of the Executive Board—not for what’s actually needed to drive performance. The assumption is that they don’t need to change. Everyone else does.
That assumption is wrong.
And it’s keeping your teams stuck.
What Needs to Change?
If you're serious about leadership transformation, here’s the truth:
No senior leadership programme should happen without the Executive Board actively involved.
Not just dropping in. Not just giving a talk.
Actively involved.
You have to work on the relationship between the EB and the leaders directly below them.
If you don’t, you’ll never unlock the full potential of your leadership group.
You’ll keep wasting time, money, and energy. And you won’t see the change you’re aiming for.
This Is Where I Come In
I work directly with Executive Boards and senior teams to make these relationships stronger, more honest, and built for performance—not politics.
It’s not about blaming one side or fixing individuals. It’s about creating the trust, awareness, and alignment that allows people to stop performing and start leading.
When we build emotional intelligence at the top of the system, the whole organisation shifts.
It’s measurable. It’s visible. And it lasts.
Ready to Stop the Theatre and Start Leading?
If you’re leading a senior team or an Executive Board and know there’s more potential on the table—but something’s not clicking—I can help you get clarity and take action.
đź”— Explore how I help leadership teams transform at hooper-rees.com
Or, if you're ready to talk: [email protected]