 For many of us, there are at least three steep climbs we make in our careers. They involve acquiring critical managerial and leadership skills, and they are often tied to specific titles or levels in a hierarchy.
1.Conquering scope and scale The first happens when we realize that time is no longer our friend. Early in careers and up through a Manager level, we are often individual contributors with a limited span of responsibility. The thoroughness of our work begins to get stressed as more responsibility is put on our plates. There comes a point when the requirements of the job are too great for one person to do in an exceptional job on everything. Responsibility and accountability begin to diverge. You may have ownership for results without being able to manage the task yourself. I remember having a very competent manager, Henry, working for me in a HQ marketing role. He had checked all the boxes and was eager for a more senior assignment. Henry assumed a Sr Manager position leading a nascent marketing organization of four people. It was his first time with direct reports, and he couldn’t let go of the work. He was uncertain of his team’s ability to do their work and he tried to do it all himself. Instead of diving in as he did before his promotion, he got stuck. The amount on his plate became paralyzing. It took Henry several months of coaching and training in prioritization and delegation before he got some traction. He finally internalized that, in his more senior position, parts of his former job were too low-value for him to continue doing, that he had to offload some work to do the more strategic job demanded of him. With that realization, he (reluctantly) delegated to his reports. With some oversight on his part, they succeeded and so did he. 2.Solving ambiguity with insight If there is a condition that defines director-level work, it may be working in ambiguous situations. You are asked to solve a problem, but nobody defines the problem for you. You see symptoms. You have lagging indicators. But the root cause has escaped people, until you are given the task. Let me share some 19th and 20th century wisdom here. Charles Kettering, head of research for General Motors for over a quarter century said, “A problem defined is a problem half solved.” The Prussian military analyst Carl von Clausewitz coined the phrase “the fog of war,” describing the lack of situational awareness that confronts participants in military action. He said, “A sensitive and discriminating judgment is called for; a skilled intelligence to scent out the truth.” Through all the confusion and lack of clarity, success comes from insight. Albert Einstein talked about how some people cut through the fog. “Creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no one else ever thought.” Some undefined problems might be very difficult to uncover. Sometimes, people who viewed it before you just got caught in the fog. Whatever the case, seeing a problem for what it is and finding a solution is a milestone in a leader’s evolution. 3. Developing an enterprise orientation Executive Springboard mentor John Keppeler told me a story about when he had his first C-suite role. He led sales for CNS, the company that introduced Breathe Right nasal strips. The CEO, Marti Morfitt, gave him advice that rings true 25 years later. “John, you are a really good sales guy. Learn what it takes to be part of a cross-functional management team. Get out of your lane and be more than the VP of Sales.” Leadership teams are diminished by members who stay in their lanes, who protect their turf and who don’t challenge their colleagues to get better. Joe had all the functional skills that you would ever want from an Operations VP. Those who worked for him loved him. But his relationships with other members of the leadership team were another matter. Any suggestion about Operations was met with Joe's full-throated opposition. The only time he offered an opinion on another function was when it impacted his own. I can’t say he wasn’t a team player. It was just that he played on HIS team and not the company’s! It is critical that leaders develop a sense of working for the common good, not just supporting the interests of their team. There is a balance required. Your team needs you to be their champion and to provide them with political air cover. But successful organizations also demand more of their leaders, requiring them to operate with a wider lens. |
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