ABSTRACT
This chapter is devoted to reviewing the executive team literature, and focuses on how executive teams are an important part of the overall picture. M. G. McIntyre discussed executive teams in the context of other management teams, including line management teams, staff management teams, not-for-profit management teams, and boards/councils. J. R. Katzenbach and D. K. Smith observed that executive groups need to consciously make a decision about whether they should be a working group or a team. They convincingly argued that the team route takes much more time and effort than does the work group route. D. C. Hambrick and E. Abrahamson examined the degree to which a top executive actually had discretion in making decisions and found that it varied across industry types. The executive team members need to be emotionally, cognitively; and attitudinally aligned with what the organization is doing to really be effective as a team.
