Whitepaper: The Super Job - How to Maximize the Collective Influence of the Leadership Team

There exists within every executive leadership team the potential to do something extraordinary. DillonMarcus calls this a team's "Super Job" — the collective power an executive team has to positively impact the organization, beyond each executive's ability to perform their individual function well.

An Untapped Potential

While this potential resides within every executive team, it often goes underutilized because the team hasn't intentionally identified, defined, and institutionalized it. It's like being a superhero who hasn't yet awakened to their powers. Very few executive teams fully understand their Super Job — their role as a collective leadership team — and most underestimate both the organization's need for them to lead as a team and their own collective influence.

The Cost of Playing Solo

In many organizations, each C-Suite leader plays a solo game, quietly living by an "I'll worry about my piece, you worry about yours" strategy. This siloed leadership style tends to produce ineffective executive team meetings, a lack of accountability, too much time spent in the weeds, inconsistent execution, and a tendency for everyone to want to control their own world. The potential for something better — a unified leadership body maximizing its positive impact — is there, but it takes intention to unlock.

7 Steps to Creating Your Super Job

The first four steps give the team the information it needs; the next three determine action.

1. Decide It

As a team, decide that you genuinely want to pursue becoming a collective leadership force.

2. Ask It

Start by asking what the organization needs, echoing Peter Drucker's emphasis on that question, then ask how the team can best utilize its collective talent, knowledge, and influence to fill that need.

3. Crowd Source It

Validate your own reflection by asking the people who need the team most: How can the senior team be most helpful? Where is the senior team falling short? What are we doing well that you want more of?

4. Define It

Craft a common job description for the leadership team that satisfies what the organization needs — your version of Disney's "Keep the Park Clean" as every employee's shared first responsibility.

5. Model It

The best Super Jobs happen when leadership teams collectively model the values the organization espouses. Nothing is more destructive than leaders who don't uphold those values — and nothing more powerful than leaders who consistently do.

6. Do It Consistently

Take action that's authentic and genuine to create positive organizational ripples, and don't be shy about letting the organization know what you're doing.

7. Measure It

Measure yourselves against these standards, and have the organization measure you too. Consider whether you're willing to link compensation to how well you execute your Super Job — measuring helps you adjust, maximize effectiveness, and demonstrates you're serious about the work.

Staying the Course

It's easy to revert back to silos. Designating a coach who can point the team in the right direction without fear, while holding them to their commitments, helps keep the Super Job on track. World-class organizations become world-class because they understand how to leverage and maximize the collective influence of the C-Suite.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a "Super Job" in DillonMarcus's framework?

It's the collective power an executive team has to positively impact its organization, beyond each leader's individual role — a shared responsibility the team defines and models together.

What are the 7 steps to creating a Super Job?

Decide It, Ask It, Crowd Source It, Define It, Model It, Do It Consistently, and Measure It.

Why do executive teams often miss their Super Job?

Because each leader tends to focus on their individual function, operating in a silo rather than intentionally defining and institutionalizing their collective influence as a team.

Learn more about how DillonMarcus helps build world-class executive teams at DillonMarcus.com, or download the full Super Job Whitepaper (PDF).

Back to Blog