Career Development: Transformation from Mid-Career to Leadership Positions
Career Development Association of Singapore (CDAS)
To Promote and Professionalize Career Development and Management in Singapore
By: Ken Tan (CCSP)
I am intrigued by how professionals around me leapfrog to senior-level roles.
Just like *Jack (name has been replaced to maintain confidentiality) who is an ex-colleague of mine. Recently, he has taken on a leadership role as the Group Head of Human Resources. He is known to be strategic and possesses a solid track record in big consulting firms. He did not get promoted from climbing up the human resources career ladder.
Michelle, a contact of mine is the Head of Sustainability after years working in a mid-level position within the same route. She oversees a team of three and sits on the executive team.
What stands out from both are interesting: - The way of thinking and strategizing (blue ocean) - Ability to understand financial levers that directly impact the growth of a business (finance) - Level of executive presence to influence senior stakeholders (leadership communication) - Credible Thought Leader within the company (knowledge) - Rally people together and motivate them for a specific business goal (management) - Content expert that the organization needs, and translating to tangible business outcome (value)
As a CCSP (Certified Career Services Practitioner) who managed more than 300 cases, I took a small sample of my past clients’ files to cross-validate my findings. They have an average of 14 years of working experience in their respective field. Although the size of the study is limited, nonetheless, I can glean broad insights from a high level.
Here are 4 key areas identified:
In other words, mid-careerists like Jack and Michelle who take on leadership roles, have exhibited the above. Let us look at each of them.
Cultivate Relationships
Getting endorsed to the leadership role is critical. Relationships are not after work knocking off beer mugs. The mid-careerists make the effort to build rapport with peers and leaders and gradually strengthen their internal network across business units. They should understand the people-to-people dynamics and be aware of cultural norms within the organization.
Skill Bank
Human-centric skills are important. This involves the capability to manage senior stakeholders and possibly the Board’s expectations (if the mid-careerist is part of the leadership committee).
Mid-careerists should possess a specific level of man-management ability. They lead teams through soft influence, garnering respect from peers and colleagues from other divisions. They understand how motivation is done 1:1 and across team levels.
In addition, known to be at least an SME (subject matter expertise) in one domain area. Lastly, as businesses are profit-driven, mid-careerists who have the capabilities of financial analysis will know the right type of levers to pull to achieve specific business results.
Positioning
Personal work identity comes next – how will the mid-careerist be labeled?
Jack has been called the “Strategic Thinker.” Michelle is a “Planet Conservator”.
In addition, how the mid-careerists react to situations (e.g., calm, intellectual, analytical) will determine how others perceive their emotional maturity.
领英推荐
Psychologist Albert Bandura’s Theory of Self-efficacy is a great illustration. He has defined self-efficacy as a person’s particular set of beliefs that determine how well one can execute a plan of action in prospective situations (Bandura, 1977).
If a mid-careerist has high self-efficacy, he/she can control their functioning. This will influence their emotional capacity to react. Having a high level of experience sets up the mid-careerists for leadership success. Ideally, the mid-careerists should be self-aware about their internal branding.
Think about their top 3 attributes that align with the organization’s values and purpose.
Mindset
Ideally, mid-careerists should develop strong convictions and take the leap of faith to assume leadership roles. Getting self-aware of one’s beliefs and reframing perspectives to a wider scope, potentially global, helps to make the transition smoother.
Having a Coach provides professional guidance. With the help of a personality assessment tool, it also unlocks insights into their state of mental readiness and understanding of their type of personal characteristics (positive self-inclusive) to take on senior positions.
Career Development Pathway
This brings me to the question if the route is linear or zigzag.
I have seen how complex a company is - depends on the culture, the number of employees, the hierarchal structure, and the composition of the leaders. May lead to a spin-off.
That said, the organization may have a high-potential talent program to handpick a pool of internal candidates, including mid-careerists, for critical leadership roles. It is part of succession planning.
They may undergo a battery of tests or rotated between positions which will be monitored and evaluated thereafter. Hence, the upward journey takes time and often, is not linear.
Realistically, small wins are needed before a bigger milestone is hit.
However, if the mid-careerist exhibits a mastery level from the 4 points as highlighted - exhibiting authenticity, the mark of influence, and consistency in people management, the success rate is higher. The transformative journey can be exhilarating for the mid-careerists.
Ken Tan is a Lead Advisor in Employee Experience (Asia) and a Certified Career Services Practitioner (CCSP), credentialed from NCDA America. Since 2008 after work and weekends, he has successfully transformed more than 300 lives of working professionals across Fortune 500 companies and technology firms. He was a former Council Member of CDAS. He is also a member of ACPDA and CDI UK. Feel free to subscribe to his free newsletter here.
CDAS?is an association based in Singapore that aims to Promote and Professionalize Career Development and Management in Singapore.
?????????????? ???????? ????:?https://forms.gle/Unp2QLLN1dkG28SN9??????? ?????? ?????????????????? ????????????????: ? ?????????????????? ???????????? ?????????? ? ?????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????????? ? ???????????? ?????????????????????????? ???????????????? ? ???????????????????? ???????????? ???????????????? ?