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Leadership Transitions
Joshua HowardIGDA Leadership ForumSlideShare VersionOct 2011
From Manager, to Manager of Managers, to Multi-Discipline Management
Not Okay Okay Good Better
Demonstrates sincere enthusiasm about the team and its work.
Management style can sometimes cause disengagement or demotivation of others.
Engages and motivates team members. Acknowledges effective behaviors or results immediately following employee successes.
Finds innovative ways to recognize and reward success. Supports employees when issues arise, turning negative results into learning opportunities.
For more Competency Indicators, seeThe THUD,
http://thethud.wordpress.com
When developing a set of Competency Indicators about Management, like this…
It became clear that this framework did not address how Management changes as one moves from being
aFront Line Manager to a Manager of Managers.
There must be a tool that describestransitions through management…
Passage One
Passage Three
Passage Five
Passage Two
Passage Four
Passage Six
Manage Self
Manage Managers
Business Manager
Enterprise Manager
Group Manager
Functional Manager
Manage Others
Critical Career
Passages in a Large
Business Organization
From “The Leadership Pipeline”, by R. Charan, S. Drotter, and J.
Noel
• Management is not one thing
• Misunderstanding leadership transitions is one cause of poor leadership
• Poor leadership leads to poor business results1
If Nothing Else1 As amply demonstrated by “The Extraordinary Leader”,
by J. Zenger & J. Folkman
• Manage Self to Manage Others
• Manage Others to Manager Managers
• Manage Single Discipline to Manage Multiple Functions
Leadership Transitions
Getting results through others
• Individual Contributors become managers when
• They are strong in their discipline• They work well with others
• But many more skills are needed to be a successful front line manager
Manage Self to Manage Others
• Planning Work• Assigning Work• Motivating the team• Coaching the team• Hiring• Measuring the work of others
Front Line Manager Skillset
• Not making the value shift• From tolerating management
work to truly understanding its value
• Overpowering their direct reports
• Taking direction only from above, and not developing strong sideways relationships
Common Pitfalls
• Team meetings never happen• Team members don’t know
what their manager does• Direct reports are not
improving• Never pushing back on
management on behalf of their team
Trouble Signs
Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t just fix mistakes
• Don’t exhibit favoritism
• Don’t ease a new manager into the role by giving them a small team
• Do teach them to avoid the mistake next time
• Do recognize individual strengths
• Do insist that front line managers spend time managing
Poor Front Line Managers willNOT be better
Manager of Managers
• Team gets bigger and the best front line manager is asked to step up
• Team needs leadership
Manage Others to Manager of Managers
• Assigning managerial and leadership work
• Coaching managers• Redeploying resources • Measuring progress of
managers• Choosing front line managers
Manager of Managers Skillset
• Trying to manage individual contributors directly, and not their managers
• Single minded focus on getting work done
• And not growing organizational capability
Common Pitfalls
• Difficulty delegating• Delegates, but without
accountability• Direct managers are not improving• Managers don’t know what their
manager does• Blames the managers reporting to
them for concerns upper management expresses
Trouble Signs
Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t use power to demean
• Don’t set managers against each other
• Don’t ask “will you hit your date”
• Do use power to motivate
• Do bust silos
• Do ask “what are you doing to ensure your team hits your date”
Managing multiple disciplines is about shifting from
Functional Expertiseto Functional Integration
• Taking responsibility for the business as a whole
• A Manager of Managers who demonstrates broader strategic thinking
Manage Single Discipline to Multi Discipline Management
Multi Discipline Manager Skillset
• Planning Work• Assigning Work• Motivating the team• Coaching the team• Hiring• Measuring the work of
others
• Assigning managerial and leadership work
• Coaching managers• Redeploying resources • Measuring progress of
managers• Choosing front line
managers
• Coordinate functions for successful business delivery
• Speak for all functions to upper management
• Over valuing the function they are most familiar with
• Over managing the function they are most familiar with
• Over focus on successful execution• Instead of business results
Common Pitfalls
• Team meetings never happen• Function heads don’t know what
their boss does• No performance management is
evident• Never pushing back on
management on behalf of their team
• Needing to traffic cop cross function work
• No clear successor
Trouble Signs
Do’s and Don’ts
• Don’t spend all your time on the now
• Do put time aside for reflection and analysis
• Make growing through Management a choice, not a requirement
• Coach, emphasizing the new skills needed
• Provide a mentor• Remove from the role
What To Do
{ {Recommend Reading“The Leadership Pipeline: How to Build the Leadership Powered Company”• by Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter and
James Noel• www.ram-charan.com/leadership_pipeline.htm
“The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders”• by John H. Zenger & Joseph R. Folkman• www.zfco.com
The THUD• thethud.wordpress.com
Contact Information• More from Joshua Howard
• thereisnothem.wordpress.com• Email
• [email protected] • All material © 2011 Joshua
Howard or their respective owners
References