Understanding the Challenges of Team Dynamics
I recently met a Partner from a prestigious London-based firm that has been operating for hundreds of years. They have an established brand, a niche market, and minimal competition. Their market is global, and they have no issues with pipeline.
As usual, we were brought in to discuss technology, but underneath lay a deeper issue: team dynamics. A serious one. Their management structure follows the traditional finder, minder, grinder model, and the Partner had two key concerns:
- How do we keep the grinders happy when there’s little movement at the top, leading to unclear career progression?
- How can we modernise and grow the business when some of the older Partners, who are nearing retirement, resist change and investment?
The Core Issues Impacting Team Dynamics
As is common in this type of professional services business, each Partner holds their own P&L, operating in isolation and hoarding leads and work to protect their contacts. Meanwhile, younger employees crave work-life balance, optimism, and a more professional culture—one that does not tolerate outdated behaviours from senior leaders.
I empathised with the Partner. He was caught in the classic Sandwich Generation dilemma—not in the traditional sense of caring for both children and aging parents, but in the business context, balancing legacy leadership above and ambitious talent below.
He explained that they had attempted various fixes over the years, including but not limited to:
- Opening another office to create internal competition.
- Increasing face-to-face meetings between Partners.
Yet, these efforts had not solved the core problems. The firm was suffering from two major leaks:
- Profit Leaks: They were not optimised, unable to secure the business of the future, and spending money on ineffective workarounds.
- Time Leaks: Too much time was wasted on internal politics instead of delivering customer value.
Perhaps the most concerning issue was their tendency toward navel-gazing—spending excessive time on internal matters rather than focusing on customer satisfaction. This was evident in our conversation; we barely discussed their clients at all.
Despite the Partner’s empathy for the older leadership, I sensed his frustration behind his composed exterior. Understanding why people resist change is important, but it should not prevent decisive action.
How to Fix Team Dynamics: Act Like an Investor
Rather than relying on internal politics to dictate strategy, businesses facing these challenges should think like Private Equity investors. Beyond providing capital, PE firms bring governance, which forces organisations to focus on structure and measurable progress rather than politics. Here’s how to apply that mindset:
1. Enforce Governance & Accountability
An investor would assess the business, strip out inefficiencies, and double down on areas of profitability and growth. In this case, that means addressing the Partners causing friction—likely by moving them out or significantly altering their influence.
2. Increase Candour in the Team
Create a culture where anyone can call out destructive behaviour. One proven framework for this is EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), particularly the Level 10 (L10) meeting structure, which drives accountability and transparency.
3. Leverage the Kolbe Index for Team Optimisation
But only after fixing leadership issues. Once structural problems at the top are addressed, run Kolbe assessments across the team and reorganise based on individual conative strengths. This will break the traditional finder-minder-grinder model but allow staff to work efficiently and get things done.
Improving Team Dynamics is Challenging
If your business is struggling with internal resistance to change, governance gaps, or disengaged talent, take a step back and approach the problem like an investor. Structure and accountability drive progress—without them, even the strongest brand or legacy won’t save a firm from stagnation.
