Few managerial transitions are more difficult than making the move from leading a function to leading an entire enterprise for the first time… though what got them to the top may no longer be enough, there are steps that they and their organizations can take to prepare them to succeed.
Michael D. Watkins, Genesis Advisers, IMD Business School, & author
Takeaways of Note:
7 seismic shifts for leadership focus & skills:
Analyst to Integrator – Leadership Skills have less to do with analysis and more to do with understanding how to make trade-offs & explain the rationale for those decisions
Tactician to Strategist – Leaders have to let go of many of the details and free mind & time to focus on higher-level matters
Bricklayer to Architect – Leaders need to think in terms of systems… to understand how key elements of an org fit together and not assume that one element can be altered without thinking through the implications for all the others
Problem Solver to Agenda Setter – Leaders must focus less on solving problems and more on defining which problems should be tackled
Warrior to Diplomat – Leaders do less “marshaling the troops to defeat the competition” and more “influencing a host of external constituencies” (negotiation, persuasion, conflict management, & alliance building to shape the environment in supporting the org’s strategic objectives)
Supporting Cast Member to Lead Role – managers at all levels are role models to some degree… at the enterprise level, a leader’s influence is magnified, as everyone looks to them for vision, inspiration, & cues about “right” behaviors & attitudes