Beyond the Solo Success: The Biggest Mistake Senior Leaders Make—and How to Avoid It

Dear Tony,?

What is the biggest error senior leaders make most often??

-Mistakes in Memphis

Dear Mistakes,

One of the biggest errors I see senior leaders make is not realizing they are part of an integral leadership team, and that coordination, alignment, and communication are critical to their success.? Some leaders don’t even acknowledge they are part of a senior officer “system” of leadership, and that lack of self-awareness of this kind leads to all kinds of career derailing behaviors.?

For example, senior leaders ascend to being appointed a president or CEO or other C-suite position by working hard, applying what they learned to their jobs, creating value for the firm, making good decisions, and working effectively with others, among many other attributes.? But the key to their “ascent” is what “they” have done in their career most of the time, and people notice their individual effort is worthy of promotion to more responsibility.??

At some point in a senior leader’s career it becomes clear that they must collaborate with other smart people in order to get things done, solve problems, optimize systems, etc.? It becomes not only how hard they work, but how well they work with other senior leaders!?

The part many leaders miss is that once they are in the senior role, they keep to their individual behavior that earned them so much praise in the past.? They miss entirely the value contribution of being a part of a leadership “system” that is assembled by the CEO and board of directors.??

To avoid this, remember it takes a lot of hard work to be a leader, and you must deliver more value than others to be promoted in your career.? But it takes “even more” when you become a senior officer of a firm – it takes being great at what you do AND being a great member of a senior officer team to be effective.? Collaborate, invest in relationships when nothing is on the line, ask others for input, align with others who are impacted by your decisions, and be a trusted source of impact when people come knocking on your door.???

To do it right, seek to perform at high levels in your role, and always remember you are part of a team that makes way more happen than you can possibly imagine doing on our own.? If you do this, you will thrive in our professional life.

• Want more? Check out The River Guide Pro module on Performance Reviews, including personalized email support to assist you in your particular situation.
• Find out how at: The River (https://therivercoach.org) Got a question? Send your question directly to Tony at [email protected]