An executive team review is an independent look at whether the structure, roles and capability at the top of an organisation are right for what comes next.
It isn't automatically a restructure. And it shouldn't be an elaborate consultancy exercise that produces a new organisation chart before anybody has understood the problem.
At its best, it gives the Board and CEO evidence for a set of decisions they were probably going to have to make anyway.
What should an executive team review cover?
I would normally start with the strategy and the work the executive team needs to own. From there, look at the roles themselves: purpose, accountabilities, overlaps, spans of control, decision rights and where important work is falling between people.
Then look at capability. Does the existing team have what the organisation needs? Are there succession options below it? Where would external talent materially improve the team?
Remuneration and external market positioning can also matter, particularly if roles have evolved over time or the organisation is about to ask people to take on materially different scope.
The output should be usable: clear role definitions, evidence on the market, a view on capability and recommendations the Board can make decisions from.
When is it useful?
Leadership change is the obvious trigger. A CEO departure, retirement or unexpected executive vacancy creates a natural point to ask whether simply replacing like for like makes sense.
Other triggers include a new strategy, merger or acquisition, significant growth, a change in ownership, persistent overlap between executives, succession concerns or a Board that is no longer confident the structure reflects how the business actually operates.
Sometimes nothing dramatic has happened. The team has simply evolved one appointment at a time until nobody can quite explain why responsibilities sit where they do.
Don't start with names
One of the hardest parts is separating roles from incumbents.
People are rarely neutral about colleagues they have worked with for years. A review can quickly become either an exercise in protecting individuals or a disguised performance process.
Start with what the organisation needs. Then assess the current team against it.
External evidence helps
This is where a talent adviser can add something different from a pure organisation design consultancy.
You can look at how comparable organisations structure similar leadership teams, what those roles pay and what sort of people are available externally. That doesn't mean copying competitors. It gives the Board a reference point.
The market can tell you whether a proposed role is realistic, whether the remuneration fits the scope and whether the capability you are describing actually exists in one person.
The review shouldn't assume recruitment
A good executive team review may create searches. It may also lead to internal appointments, development, changed accountabilities or fewer roles.
That's why I think it belongs before executive search, not inside it.
Get the structure and decision right first. Recruit only what is genuinely missing.