Increasingly, the top team is essential to the success of the enterprise. Research shows that merely bringing in a new chief executive officer to reshape an organization has mixed results. In reality, long-term success depends on the whole leadership team, for it has a broader and deeper reach into the organization than the CEO does and its performance has a multiplier effect-a poorly performing team breeds competing agendas and turf politics; a high-performing one, organizational coherence and focus. McKinsey's work with many top teams suggests a straightforward process for enhancing their performance.

The take-away:
Don't believe the myth of the heroic leader. What is more, behavioral interventions and facilitated workshops are not the whole answer to team building. Rather, focus on activities that foster team action, channel the team's discontent, minimize intrusions, and encourage reflection.

Companies can transform the attitudes and behavior of their employees by applying psychological breakthroughs that explain why people think and act as they do.