Recent extensive research has revealed a disproportionate percentage of executives were unprepared to inspire and lead themselves and others to achieve higher levels of performance in an increasingly complex and demanding global marketplace. Powerful executives are those who consistently produce excellent results while maintaining personal energy and enhancing their relationships as well as the skill and commitment of those they lead. Performance is an outcome that is both driven and measured at multiple levels: Organization, Group, and Individual.
TRAITS OF SUCCESSFUL EXECUTIVE ASCENT:
Executive preparation and performance must be viewed as one continuous journey with predictable phases, each of which has addressable challenges that, if viewed collectively, more holistically and sustainably prepare executives to assume increasingly broader levels of responsibility and succeed along the way.
The four phases of executive ascent require deliberate, thoughtful attention for executives to successfully arrive and contribute at the highest levels of organizations.
Ascend:
Treat executive preparation as an evolutionary journey, not a series of disparate and disconnected events the majority of new leaders said they were unprepared for the roles they assumed. Leadership transitions were usually seen as a discrete event rather than as an ongoing adaptation to increasingly complicated organisational challenges and opportunities. To effectively navigate the ascent to higher altitudes, aspiring executives must:
- Proactively anticipate and address the symptoms of “altitude sickness” and acclimatize to higher altitudes; manage “summit shock”
- Resist the view that what got you here, will get you there. Being a great follower isn’t the background for being a great leader.
- See current and future roles in the context of the entirety of an organization – transition from the Coordinating to the Strategic system
- Identify and differentiate the expectations at each altitude; consciously contribute to both the technical and leadership expectations of each role
Then Adjust:
Be very intentional with how transitions are guided and planned for Sixty-seven percent of executives struggle deeply to let go of the work of their previous roles yet lament they spend time dealing with the performance shortfalls of others. To intentionally guide one’s transition to a higher altitude, executives must:
- Anticipate and practice letting go of the aspects of your current job ahead of the timeframe for your next transition
- Build a learning plan that first targets gathering disconfirming data
- Synthesise learning into a shared set of “vital few” priorities
- Size up talent and build their team
- Build authentic relationships (vertical and horizontal); allow people to get to know you
- Blend without going native
- See the whole; diagnose without indicting
- Solicit and act upon personal feedback at key intervals
While many see functional expertise as the route to success, breadth and deep knowledge of multiple aspects of the organization makes you rise “and stick” in a GM position; technical mastery in a singular area is more of a liability than an asset at higher levels
Decisiveness – making choices and hard ones – and worrying less about how others feel – is more effective AND more respected; ownership is as much a factor of “inclusion” as it is “clarity” – so widespread ownership of “unclear and muddled” decisions is destructive, not effective
Context is CRUCIAL to success – the deeper your understanding of the SPECIFIC context you are in, the deeper and more sustainable your impact; agility is not a function of adapting from environment to environment but rather adapting your past wisdom and experiences in very particular ways to your existing context
The depth of your relationships with peers, bosses, and direct reports has direct correlation on your ability to make meaningful advances in performance. Authenticity is not a byproduct of your “style” but rather of your aspiration and intent. Stakeholder relationships are not something you “get to” when you finish the “real work” – at the executive level, they are EVERYTHING.