|
Leadership Transitions
When the topic of leadership is raised, a conventional assumption often reflected in discussions is the idea that there is an ultimate definition of what it takes to be an effective leader. People work throughout their careers to develop the skills to become an “effective leader”. But is this conventional perspective correct? Is there really some ultimate definition of the role of a leader in an organization? In working with several of our clients over the years, we have come to realize that the fundamental job of the leader changes in significant ways as a leader progresses from one level in the organization to a higher level – from entry-level leadership -- to mid-level leadership – to executive leadership. From that experience, we developed a leadership transition model that highlights some of the key ways that a leader’s job changes as the leader progresses to each of these levels. In essence, what we have discovered when it comes to leadership is that “what got you here … won’t necessarily get you there”. Even more challenging, some leadership attributes that help entry-level leaders be successful become stumbling blocks at more senior leadership roles.
We have discovered that the key to successful leadership transitions is for leaders to be aware of and prepared for the new challenges they are likely to face at each leadership level, and the new behaviors they will need to employ to meet those challenges. Leaders need to recognize the new things to start doing, as well as be prepared to jettison things they have done in the past that will no longer be helpful to them in their new role. The leadership challenge is that some of the things they need to discard may have been key to their past success. It can be very difficult to abandon something that has proven to be effective up to this point. As leaders transition from one level to the next they need to learn to adopt and apply new ways of operating. The Leadership Transition Model is designed to help them identify and understand how they need to change.
Click for more insight about Leadership Transitions
Copyright © Lexington Leadership Partners, LLC., All Rights Reserved
|
