Dear Madeleine,
I am an EVP in a mid-sized service business. I created the role, as I was put in charge of two business units that had been quite siloed but shared some overlap. Part of my job was to create consistency in their approach to developing new business, data collection, and execution.
I have accomplished most of this assignment. Now I need to stay out of the way and let the leaders under me run their teams.
My boss tells me my job now is to find ways to grow my area strategically and get out of the weeds. My problem is I don’t know how.
I have realized that when I am not ticking items off my list, I don’t feel like I am working. I feel like a loser. How do I know I am adding value if I can’t point to all the things I have accomplished in any given day?
Uneasy
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Dear Uneasy,
You have articulated one of the biggest sources of confusion and distress that strikes those in the transition from operational to executive leadership. Your entire career has been built on solving problems and getting things done—and all of a sudden there are other people doing those things. To add to the mix, there really isn’t anyone who can tell exactly what you should be doing, so it is your job to figure it out. None of the things you have learned to do well are required of you anymore. You are now going back to being a beginner, but with a lot of visibility and pressure. No wonder you feel uneasy.
I can certainly share some thoughts with you, but I would also suggest that you assess your network of friends and former colleagues who have made this transition and elicit thoughts from them. The more ideas you gather, the easier it will be to identify the ones that make sense for your exact situation.
The Blanchard point of view about the distinction between levels is that the job of strategic leaders to is to define and re-enforce the vision, build and nurture the right culture, and keep everyone focused on the key imperatives. Operational leaders are responsible for ensuring proper behavior on their teams, making certain that the way things get done is just and fair, and verify that processes and systems are maintained so that goal execution is smooth. You can find the research that supports these ideas here.
So, the questions to ask yourself are:
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- How might I go about finding out whether the organization’s vision is clear for everyone in my business units?
- Do I have my finger on the pulse of the culture of every team that reports to me?
- Am I 100% certain that every single person under me is aware of what is most important and how to utilize that information to prioritize tasks, use their best judgment, and make good decisions?
One senior leader I worked with developed the idea to visit all of the sites in his units regularly and simply talk to people. His request of every person he spoke to was “Teach me something about your job that I may not know.” He was blown away by how much he learned and how well he got to know people, but most importantly by the insights his visits generated.
Another client I worked with, a comptroller who was being groomed to be the next CFO of a multibillion dollar conglomerate, asked his CEO “How will I know I am doing a good job?” The answer was, “The number of times your phone rings.” This was a long time ago, before email and our constant communication via online platforms was a thing. It took him a while to figure out that if his people, customers, and colleagues in other companies were calling him for input, brainstorming, and advice, that meant he made himself available and knew what was going on in his organization and in the world. That was the job.
One CEO I worked with recently described (with delight) his CHRO as the person “Who sees all and knows all.” Another senior leader I worked with, who complained she never had time to get out of the details and think about things from a higher level, starting going for walks to do exactly that: think. It took her a while to get comfortable with the fact that she was literally getting paid to think.
It is totally normal to try different approaches and to be uncomfortable in this transition after decades of being rewarded for checking tasks off of your list. It takes a lot of discipline to get out of the way so your leaders can blossom in their own new roles, but as long as you stay aware of what is going on and intervene when appropriate, it will pay off.
Good luck to you.
Love, Madeleine
About Madeleine
Madeleine Homan Blanchard is a master certified coach, author, speaker, and cofounder of Blanchard Coaching Services as well as a key facilitator of Blanchard’s Leadership Coach Certification course. Madeleine’s Advice for the Well Intentioned Manager is a regular Saturday feature for a very select group: well intentioned managers. Leadership is hard—and the more you care, the harder it gets. Join us here each week for insight, resources, and conversation.
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