I’ve been doing a lot of 360 feedback debrief sessions with senior leaders recently and this same development hurdle is true for all of them.
Having recently certified in Korn Ferry’s KF360 Blended it’s been cool to get to do so many debriefs and see the value of this assessment.
For anyone in a leadership position it’s valuable to get rated feedback on key competencies for your role. And the comments section in the ones I’ve reviewed contained the magic – people really do make the effort to tell you the important things.
And the common theme for all of these already senior leaders was an ask.
Their teams were asking them to delegate even more, let them handle more of the challenges.
Their managers were asking them to take a more strategic view, with increasing scope the work load won’t get managed unless they do this, and delegate more.
Their customers (internal) were asking them to develop their teams more, focus on stakeholder management.
The bottom line: be an agent for change, and less of a problem solver.
And it’s frustrating because each of these people have achieved their current position BECAUSE they are great problem solvers. And people are used to that.
Yet, the ask now is to make that biggest change of all: change from what you are brilliant at into something new.
Recognise this? Had feedback like this in your reviews?
It’s scary stuff, isn’t it?. People are used to you solving problems.
And there are so many problems that take up so much of your time.
As one person said: I’ve got tot calculate the time investment it will take to develop this capability in my team, against the pay-off I’d get.
And yet, becoming an enabler instead of a do-er is what is being asked of all leaders, especially those in senior positions.
With each person, we identified the key thing they need to be able to make this transition. So, objectives are set and we know what puzzles need to be solved for them to grow into this new phase. Now the fun starts.
How are you handling the transition?
This post is part of my special Coaching Tips Series. This series was inspired by my clients and the core themes in their challenges. When we can apply these tips, we bring a lot of ease into our lives and step into our leadership. Want to talk it through with me? Call me and let’s make a Game Plan together.