Stepping Into Next Level Leadership

Preparing for pitfalls and being a bridge

Dec 07, 2023

One of the biggest challenges for leaders stepping up is acknowledging that what got them to where they are today, isn’t what will make them succeed at the next level of leadership.

I’ve seen the challenges first hand and, as a confidant to many a senior leader, I’ve been privy to those gut wrenching ‘I’m not sure they’re really working out’ conversations about leadership promotions and new appointments. It is why today I specialise in guiding leaders through successful transitions into next-level leadership and working with them to help them excel long term.

One of the most common traps that leaders fall into is understanding that next level leadership rarely looks anything like your current level of operation.

For many leaders who have got to where they are today by being a fantastic functional leader, much of your time will be spent delivering and enabling others to deliver; whether that be a programme of work, targets or service levels. You’re in your ‘zone of genius’, where you know your stuff and where you are rewarded and recognised for your ability to lead a team and get things done.

The next level of leadership requires a different approach, and for a shift in perspective.

It means that your focus is outside the team, not inside.

And your energy, time and network will need to shift from the left, to the right:

Herminia Ibarra has studied this shift extensively and she describes two different types of leaders; Hubs and Bridges.

In Ibarra’s research she found extensively that leaders who were successful at navigating their step up to a bigger leadership role typically spent much of their time outside, not inside their teams.

They built their networks, went out on reconnaissance, made sure the right information and resources were getting to the team, broadcasted accomplishments selectively, and secured buy-in from higher up and across the business. These leaders were true Bridges.

Yet what makes it difficult for most leaders in todays organisational structures, is that hub or ‘functional’ leadership roles are almost always a step to bridge leadership roles.

And that can make it additionally hard to move from a way of working that you’ve become accustomed to, and good at, to a different way of thinking. It is, the ‘competency trap’ in action.

Yet if you want to succeed and excel at the next level you need to learn how to move from doing what you are good at doing today so that you can be good at what you want to do tomorrow.

The great thing is that whatever role you are in right now, you can start to bring more ‘bridge’ qualities into it, by changing the way that you spend your time and where you invest your focus.

So, this week here are four things to help you start defining your leadership in a different way and add new possibilities to it:

Reflect: Do a quick audit of how you’ve spent your time these last two weeks, against the bullet points in the Hub/Bridge table above.

Then think:

Does it reflect where you want your role to be?
What specifically would you like to be doing more of/less of?
What is one experiment that you carry out today to do start doing that?

Think: In your current role, how would a true ‘Bridge’ leader operate?

What would be occupying your time? Who would you be meeting with?
What would need to be de-prioritised, delegated or declined?
What would that make possible for you?

Focus: Changing the way you act is the first step to implementing change. But when you change, other things around you will also need to change.

How might you measure your success differently than today?
What would you need from your team for you to bring even more ‘Bridge’ into your leadership?
What systems would you need to establish?

Watch and Read: Listen to Herminia Ibarra talk more about how changing how you act today will start getting you to a new way of thinking and being in this 20 minute podcast: