Importance of Development When Transitioning New Leaders

When placed into executive roles, by promotion or otherwise, 50-70% of those executives fail in their first 18 months. This is a shocking statistic from research gathered by the Corporate Executive Board , and it is needlessly high. So, why is this happening, and what’s the solution?

Also how often do we promote people too soon or we don't even prepare them for future leadership roles? We just put them in the deep end and hope they swim when most sink. Has this happened to you? It has happened to me. I swam however it was incredibly tough and very stressful. As much as it is an honour to lead, it is not easy.

Therefore, when someone has great skills and a good rapport with their colleagues and then gets promoted to a leadership position, it seems strange that they’d fail, right? After all, shouldn’t they be able to just get on with it?

Of course not! When they’re not provided with the right coaching or support, a newly promoted leader is destined to fail. If someone has never been in a leadership position before, how can they be a great leader without any kind of mentoring?

Leaders are under a lot of pressure to produce results, but they often don’t get the mentoring support they need. The thinking is that at this level they should be able to just do it.” Madeleine Blanchard, organisational coaching expert at The Ken Blanchard Companies

It’s not surprising that such a high percentage of executives and future leaders fail when this attitude is so prevalent within organisations; coaching is seen as something that those below leaders need when that couldn’t be further from the truth. Just because someone succeeded at their role previously, doesn’t mean they can make the transition to leader on their own.

Organisational and leadership consulting firm Navalent conducted interviews with 2,600 Fortune 1000 executives and found that 76% of newly promoted executives thought the development processes their company had in place were only slightly helpful in getting them prepared for their new executive role. 55% of those interviewed also said there was little to no feedback or coaching on an ongoing basis, which meant their leadership abilities weren’t being refined, affecting their performance.

Find out about our Future First Programs today! Preparing and supporting Leaders for their first year of leadership or in their first year.

For those in HR, it can also be very challenging to manage the transition of executives into their new leadership positions. In larger companies it’s not unusual for there to be multiple executives from varying departments transitioning at the same time, which means a big amount of change across the company.

HR reps then have to manage multiple different conditions, contracts, approaches etc., which can cause ROI and quality to suffer due to the overwhelming nature of these changes. The disruption continues throughout the company, as the teams that have lost these executives now have to compensate for their absence. If you are the HR leader in your organisation, don’t try and manage the transitioning of these executives on your own, especially if there are multiple transitions happening at once. Be sure to engage with the leaders of these new leaders, and have one contact person per department if needed. This way you can ensure that the transitioning leaders are all under the same approach and coaching style; cohesion throughout the executive leadership roles gives your company the reassurance that each leader understands their role and has the tools and skills to get positive results.

Learn more about our Leadership and Executive Coaching at LeadershipHQ !

Another solution to ensure cohesiveness and quality with transitioning leaders is to enlist the help of an executive coaching service. When you hire an external coaching/training service, you’re engaging professionals whose goals are to align their coaching with your company’s objectives and get the results you need. They also provide invaluable feedback about each of your leaders, that is also objective thanks to not having ties with your organisation.

That’s what you are accomplishing when you bring coaching into an organization. You are ensuring that the bus is going in the right direction and all the right people are in the right seats. Madeleine Blanchard, organisational coaching expert at The Ken Blanchard Companies

It’s almost always recommended to engage an external service for coaching rather than someone in-house, as many executives and leaders don’t often respond well to sharing thoughts with or taking directions from someone they perceive as less senior than themselves. And there is also the fear that the sessions are not truly confidential; that anything they say may be reported to management or gossiped about with co-workers.

When your transitioning leaders are given the tools to succeed in their new roles, rather than just flying blind or receiving inadequate coaching, they will feel valued and empowered, leading to the results that your organisation needs to succeed. Change the large amount of failing executives by investing in coaching and leadership programs for your new leaders; support them and watch them flourish in their new roles!

LeadershipHQ Programs

Executive & Senior Leaders

Today’s organisations need leaders who can communicate a clear vision, set and execute strategy, and drive change through uncertainty. Our Executive and Senior Leader development programs increase self-awareness, accountability and performance while supercharging leader confidence and focus. Designed for senior and executive leaders responsible for business direction, culture and performance.

Emerging Leaders

Transitioning from team member to team leader is exciting and daunting. Our programs give executives, future, first time and frontline leaders the knowledge, skills and practical tools they need to thrive. The focus is on personal growth, communicating with impact and motivating people to achieve.

Women in Leadership

The world needs more great female leaders. Designed to accelerate and elevate women’s development, our Women in Leadership programs are delivered over 6-12 months and address the unique challenges women face in their leadership journey. Through these programs, women develop the confidence, mindset and practical skills to lean into leadership.

Women in Leadership (OWL)

Study at your own pace, in your place.

The?Outstanding Women Leaders program is a personal and professional high-impact development journey?developed by Sonia McDonald, who has more than 25 years of experience in leadership and human resources.?The Virtual Program offers you the flexibility you need to grow and develop as a leader at a pace that fits your life's demands.

We combine expert online coaching and networking with a community of like-minded women to support your journey. The program includes?ten?modules with a comprehensive toolkit, video presentations, masterclasses and visual?play sheets for each chapter.

LeadershipHQ Coaching

We coach individuals, leadership teams and groups to support self-development as part of our leadership programs or when a workplace conflict is unresolved.

Discover what drives and motivates you and leverage your strengths to improve personal and team performance and impact.

No matter where you are on your leadership journey, getting a coach is never too early (or too late).

Cultural Transformation

Being stuck with a dysfunctional or wrong culture costs your business time, money and reputation. We’re here to help you shape the organisation and culture you want to enjoy.

We work with you to build or transform your current culture into one that is courageous, engaging and productive.

We implement strategies and workshops to design and implement vision, values, mission, and new leadership behaviours to create and nurture the organisational culture you need.

Assessments

We offer customised Pulse, Engagement, Cultural Assessments, Surveys, and 360’s for YOUR Organisation, Leaders and Teams.

These tools are incredibly effective for performance management and improvement by gaining a well-rounded view of your organisation's attitudes, behaviour and performance.

Online Self-Paced Course

Would you be interested in jump-starting your leadership development?

LeadershipHQ’s Online Leadership Program is an online professional development program for emerging, first-time, frontline leaders and professionals wanting to take their seats at the leadership table.

The program can be completed independently or with our facilitated programs and coaching. You can work through the program at your own pace, in your place.

Transitioning from team member to team leader is exciting and daunting. Our programs give executives, future, first time and frontline leaders the knowledge, skills and practical tools they need to thrive. The focus is on personal growth, communicating with impact and motivating people to achieve.

By Sonia McDonald – CEO of?LeadershipHQ?and Outstanding Leadership Awards , Leadership Coach, Global Keynote Speaker ,?Entrepreneur, CEO, and?Award Winning Author.

Book Sonia today for your 2024 Event, Workshop or Conference!