Have you ever been promoted because you were good at what you did…only to discover that your new job required a whole different set of competencies?
If so, read on.
That’s not uncommon. In fact, Marshall Goldsmith, executive coach and thought leader, wrote a book entitled What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.
Many of my coaching clients experience this at some point in their development as a leader. And it can be really scary. Kind of like the solid foundation that worked for you has been replaced by an inflatable balance disk.
Let’s take a peek at a recent coaching session I had that might help you figure out a way forward.
Here’s the situation: Daniel has been promoted several times for his subject matter expertise. He recently got promoted again but now he’s supervising supervisors. He’s discovering that his well-established approach to supervision is both ineffective and annoying to the people he supervises. What worked for him before—to tell his staff what they need to do based on his knowledge of their job–just isn’t cutting it. But he doesn’t know what else to do.
During our coaching session Daniel asked, “what’s the foundation of my leadership if it’s not being a subject matter expert?”
Great question! So, we proceeded to figure it out.
I suggested he think of someone he knows well and admires as a leader. What do they do that makes them a good leader?
We brainstormed a number of competencies he saw this person demonstrate. I’m sure your list will be different but here’s what he came up with:
Good judgment and common sense
Ability to ask high quality questions
Ability to walk someone through the steps to find a solution without giving them the answer
Trust and confidence in his people
Clear communication
Curiosity and open mindedness
Surprise, surprise! None of the qualities on his list included subject matter expertise. Instead, this person was gifted at drawing out and building on the expertise of others!
That was a pretty important insight but we weren’t done yet. Next, we reflected on his behavior: How often was he displaying the competencies he admired in his mentor? How often was he relying on the skills and knowledge he’d amassed as he came up through the ranks?
I suggested Daniel start paying attention to the choice points that came up: Do I want to wear my SME hat in this situation? Or would my leader hat serve better? When am I already wearing my leader hat and what’s the impact?
We ended with the assignment to pay attention to those questions with the intent of feeling more grounded and competent as a leader.
To recap:
Think of a leader you know well and admire.
What are the competencies you most admire?
When are you currently demonstrating one or more of those competencies? What’s the impact?
When are you relying on your SME knowledge and skills?
What’s the impact?
How will you remember it’s often your choice (and it’s not necessarily either/or)?
If you can relate to Daniel’s situation, why not give my suggestions a try?
P.S. If you liked this post, you might be interested in my online leadership development program, Grow to Lead. It addresses leadership challenges such as these and provides actionable tips and tools to take your leadership to the next level. Click here if you’d like to get on my mailing list to receive more information. We’re launching again in October 2022.