Leveling Up Your Leadership: Becoming an Effective Senior Leader [VIDEO]

Have you ever wondered how a very successful organization suddenly reaches a ceiling and the leader begins to feel burnout? Let me tell you about a CEO, who we will call Bob, who had established a flourishing business over a couple of decades. His extensive organization served major clients across multiple states, but the operation continued to rely on Bob's decision-making while his key leaders lacked full authority to lead. Now, the business had plateaued, several key leaders were underperforming and feeling discouraged, and Bob was beginning to feel burnout.

How did such a successful entrepreneur get to this point? Well, in short, he failed to make the transition from managing to leading effectively as a senior executive.

As we move from being an individual contributor to a manager to a senior leader, we need to master new skills – we need to lead differently! As it has been said, “What got you here, won’t get you there!”

Here are three areas in which you need to lead differently:

1. How you lead the organization

2. How you lead your leaders

3. How you lead yourself

For each area, we’ll discuss what has changed about the situation and how you must lead differently as a result.

1. Leading the Organization

What has changed: 

• Strategic time horizon – Your priorities are now longer-term and more strategic.

• Scope – Your focus becomes broader and more enterprise-wide.

• Sensitivity to organizational culture – You are now accountable for organizational culture and morale, as well as for results.

How you must lead at this level:

• Purpose and vision – Make sure that the purpose and vision of the organization are clear. People need to understand why what you do matters.

• Produce a robust strategy – “A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Your strategic plan should be written and fit on one page so you and the team can refer to it often.

• Prioritize a healthy culture – Hire, promote, reward, and fire, if necessary, based on culture. Your culture will never be better than the worst behavior you tolerate.

2. Leading Leaders

What has changed:

• Demands on your time – The demands on your time have certainly increased and you are farther from the front lines.

• Depth of organizational layers – As you are farther up the organization, you are not able to get things done by yourself. You have to work through others.

  Direct reports – The good news is that your direct reports' experience and capabilities are much greater at this level.

How you must lead:

• Develop a high-performance leadership team – We have seen too many leaders try to run the organization themselves working just one-on-one with their direct reports. They still make most of the key decisions in the organization rather than creating an empowered and cohesive leadership team that reduces silos in the organization.

• Delegate effectively – As leaders, your direct reports need to have clear goals so that they understand your expectations. Hold bi-weekly one-on-ones with them to coach them and hold them accountable.

• Decisiveness - When it comes to operational issues, make decisions quickly. That keeps the team moving and prevents analysis paralysis.

3. Leading yourself

What has changed:

• Stress – Your stress level is certainly higher because you're now handling much more difficult issues. The easy things are being taken care of by the people you lead.

• Solitary – It can be lonely at the top, and you now have less accountability because you have fewer or maybe even no bosses at this level.

• Statements – Your words now matter a lot more. Whether what you say is negative or positive, be careful what you say.

How you must lead:

• “Sharpen the saw” – Stephen Covey uses the metaphor of a lumberjack who is so busy struggling to saw down a tree, that he won’t stop to sharpen the blade. As senior leaders, we need to be intentional about rest, family time, and spiritual renewal to avoid burnout and to stay sharp.

• Support – Don’t try to manage your time alone. Make effective use of an executive assistant. They are an invaluable member of your team, if you work well together.  Hand over control of your calendar and routine correspondence. Then hold at least weekly 1:1s to plan and delegate.

• Sounding board – Make sure you have accountability, encouragement, and coaching. Who can you confide in for confidential matters? Should you consider a coach as a mentor and advisor?  Should you form an advisory board? 

Dr. Henry Cloud sums up this whole topic nicely:

“… as a leader, you are always going to get a combination of two things: what you create and what you allow!” - Dr. Henry Cloud, Boundaries for Leaders

What are some ways you could level up your leadership? Let us know how we can help you. Contact us.

Gray Wirth has served more than 30 years as a leader in corporate, nonprofit, small business, and military contexts. He has successfully led organizations ranging from 100 to 3,100 employees. Gray has lived and worked in five different countries, been a CEO, and accumulated more than 25 years of experience on nonprofit and for-profit boards. He brings experience in executive coaching, strategic planning, and advising boards of directors and business owners. As a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA®), Gray helps business owners plan in advance for future transitions to ensure that their business, personal, and financial objectives will be achieved. Gray is a U.S. Army veteran and holds a B.S. from Cornell University, an M.B.A. from Harvard University, and an M.A.R. from Westminster Theological Seminary.