CHAPTER 4

Where Do You Stand on the Leadership Ladder?

As you become more clear about who you really are, you’ll be better able to decide what is best for you—the first time around.

—OPRAH WINFREY

The definition of “high potential” varies from organization to organization, yet high potentials are universally expected to outperform others at the same level. Thus, as a high potential, you probably have been given challenging and important assignments. In that high-risk, high-reward environment, it is crucial to have conversations to learn what is expected of you and to be sure that the high potentials who work for you know what you expect of them.

We once toured a castle in France built in the Dark Ages when lawlessness was rampant. No castle lord could trust the others, yet no one lord could repel an invasion on his own—a life-or-death issue. The most striking feature about the castle was its seven distinct areas inside the outer wall, each separated from the others by a drawbridge. When there was no risk of attack, the lords lifted the drawbridges and lived independently. When danger, such as a Viking invasion, was imminent, they lowered the bridges and fought together. There is a parallel between the lords of the Dark Ages and executives in many of today’s organizations: they work together in crisis but operate in silos when pursuing day-to-day objectives.

Even in the twenty-first century, differences remain between the roles of managers and leaders and how their success is measured. As you reflect on your conversations, think about whether you possess the skills required for your current position and whether you are encouraging your people to develop the skills they need for their positions; if not, change your conversations. Plan how you will prepare yourself and your people for the next promotion. To facilitate discussions in this book, we have divided managers and leaders into four categories according to their skills and maturity level:

1. First-line managers supervise others to provide essential services or to direct team projects. They accept responsibility to accomplish more than they can do alone and to work closely with and guide others. The key lesson that a first-line manager must learn is that his role in each of the four conversations is truly different than it was when he was an individual contributor.
2. Managers of managers are often considered the go-to people for getting things done. Their jobs are no longer technical. Rather, they are a nearly equal blend of management and leadership. They must build their people skills in order to select and grow first-line managers. Their challenge is building relationships with peers, and they must be proficient in all four leadership conversations.
3. Executive leaders have operational and organizational responsibilities that require them to balance their individual goals with organizational objectives. They convert the organization’s vision into an executable strategy, which requires a unique blend of management and leadership skills. Executive leaders become students of best practices, build strategic partnerships and external relationships, are innovative in planning the future, and coach their high potentials effectively.
4. CXO leaders know the value of relationships in making decisions and taking action. They create a compelling vision for the organization and engage internal and external resources to bring the vision to life. A CXO must focus on developing others—especially if she covets the CEO position—because her team’s collective success will define her success and her reputation.

Figure 4.1 summarizes the maturity levels through which high potentials evolve as they grow from first-line manager to CXO leader. Look at the attributes in the Building Relationships row and circle the one that best describes you today. Do the same for the Developing Others, Making Decisions, and Taking Action rows. Do not be surprised if you put yourself in a column different from your position. If you are like most people, your leadership skills will vary, so it is important for you to identify your unique strengths and potential blind spots.

FIGURE 4.1. Maturity Levels for Managers and Leaders.


Consider the maturity expected at your level and the next higher level during each leadership conversation.

c4-fig-0001

Next, ask others at work to evaluate your performance in each of the four conversation types and compare their feedback to your self-evaluation. Any row where their response differs from yours represents fertile material for a conversation that will align your collective viewpoints and possibly give you a few things to change in order to realize your full potential.

In today’s fluid workforce, some managers and leaders have come full circle and returned late in their careers to individual contributor status as board members, consultants, and professional coaches. From experience, they know that the answers to leadership questions are not static and must be reexamined each time an executive is promoted, when organizations increase in size by 50 percent or more, when a game-changing technology emerges, and when market demands shift. The need for effective conversations is never ending because answers that worked last year may not work today. These grey-bearded individual contributors have been learners for decades. They have absorbed leadership lessons from successes as well as mistakes and have become experts in blending the management and leadership mindsets to suit evolving situations and higher positions.

Ten Ways to Practice Great Leadership in Effective Conversations
1. Know your people. What are the professional goals and personal priorities of your high potentials? If you do not know them, what does that tell you? Leaders connect and align with people; the greater the alignment, the better the results.
2. Invest in people. Leaders invest in growing their people’s skills, aligning their goals, and encouraging them to cooperate. The more time you invest in up-front conversations, the less time you are likely to spend later to resolve problems.
3. Balance your conversations. Are you spending sufficient time in conversations with your high potentials—balancing the need to explore alternatives, develop a plan, take action, assess results, and provide feedback?
4. Use both mindsets. Regardless of your position, you must both lead and manage in order to create a high-achieving organization. What blend of the two mindsets is appropriate for your current position and current challenges?
5. Hold all four conversations. During the past week, did conversations with your people build relationships, develop others, make decisions, and take action? Which, if any, of the four was missing? Consider emphasizing that type in the coming week.
6. Use all three conversational perspectives. Recall a meeting that ad­­dressed a strategic topic. Did each participant have an opportunity to express her views, ask questions about others’ views, and explore additional possibilities? If not, which perspective dominated, and which was absent? How did that limit the outcome?
7. Set priorities. Are priorities for your organization clear and concise? Could your team accomplish more if it had fewer priorities? Have you held a conversation with each of your people to discuss what constitutes “doing a good job”?
8. Avoid unnecessary conflict. Depersonalize your next difficult conversation by focusing on what is right rather than who is right.
9. Mentor and coach. High-performing organizations provide mentoring, coaching, and training for new managers and leaders because they know how difficult the transition can be. Did you receive such assistance following your last promotion? What assistance have you been providing to the high potentials on your team?
10. Set expectations. Ask your boss what traits are most important for high potentials who want to advance in your organization. Be sure that your high potentials also know what is expected of them.
..................Content has been hidden....................

You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.
Reset
3.135.200.4