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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

• mrjoshuahoward@gmail.com • All material © 2011 Joshua

Howard or their respective owners

References