A Value-Added Mindset: Considerations When Transitioning to a New Leadership Role

"How do I prepare to serve in positions of greater responsibility, or to lead distinctly different organizations?"

Begin with the right mindset. Embrace the concept that we are never too old, too senior, or too experienced to change how we lead. This attitude is especially helpful when moving into positions of greater responsibility, transitioning to organizations that are different from the previous, or working with a new group of people who have different experiences and perspectives. Below are five areas that may require a different approach when moving to your next position:

#1: Determine your role. When assuming a new position, no matter the type or size of the organization, a leader should ask themselves, “what is my role here and what do I uniquely bring to this team?” Answering those questions might help to avoid pitfalls such as hanging onto the last job, over-relying on approaches that worked in the past, and missing the opportunity to identify the key things that "only I can do.”

While we shouldn't discard everything they learned in previous positions, it is important to assess the environment, select the best ideas and practices to bring forward, and be the leader our current organization needs.

#2: Shape the meetings.?Most of us spend a lot of time in meetings. I have participated in meetings in every job in my three-plus decades in the Army: at home station, during training exercises, and in combat zones. When arriving at my new leadership assignments, team members often express hope that I will reduce time spent in meetings. Occasionally, I have eliminated meetings that didn’t appear to serve a useful purpose, or reduced the number of people attending a gathering to streamline discussion and allow them to complete other requirements. Frankly, it felt good to demonstrate progress in the battle against meetings!

However, as I moved to more senior positions, I learned to appreciate the value of meetings and wasn't as quick to reduce those requirements. I’ve added (or replaced) meetings to enhance focus, provide a better-defined forum, or resolve an evolving challenge. I’ve also invited additional people to meetings to ensure we remain in touch with simmering issues, hear diverse perspectives, and benefit from well-rounded discussions.?

A leader should consider how they will shape the schedule, scope the audience, and develop the agenda to ensure that their meetings produce the desired outcomes.

#3: Communication. While a platoon leader responsible for 30 soldiers in the early 1990s, we could communicate everything the team needed to know in a 15-minute formation. We could also solicit questions and provide immediate feedback. If I under-communicated or miscommunicated, I could reconnect at the next formation or pull everyone aside in the motor pool and clarify my original comments.?

Not surprisingly, effective communications is more challenging from a higher-level headquarters. An email, a town hall, one formation, one social media post, or one meeting isn’t enough. It’s important to proactively craft key messages, then deliver and repeat those messages via multiple methods. It is also critical to be precise in order to minimize misunderstandings. The larger or more dispersed the organization, the harder it is to "re-do" and clarify what's already been said.?(For additional insights on communications, see Value-Added Communication)

#4: Trust and empower. "Trust" and "empower" are sound watchwords in most situations, but they are even more important in large and complex organizations. It is difficult for one leader to provide direct oversight or ensure compliance with every task: even if we could, there are downsides to doing so. Too much oversight can limit our subordinates’ professional growth and preparation for future leadership positions. Too much personal involvement might degrade our ability to do the things that only we can do.

Instead, assess the team, determine who has the right experience, and identify the “no-fail” tasks. Then delegate and empower whenever possible. Over time, broaden the team's competency and build the bench. A leader must still check and verify, but we should do so based on an assessment of the team and the sensitivity and importance of the mission.?

#5: Mentoring and Coaching. With increasing demands on our time in the next job, continuing to be an effective mentor or coach may require a new way to focus our goals. Below is an approach that helps me:?

• Prioritize mentoring by putting it on the calendar.?
• Systematize outreach using a tool that tracks when I last spoke to each leader. Then, make contact on a recurring basis.?
• Expand outreach using technology and existing forums.??

A tangible outcome of the above framework is this newsletter. Posting articles regularly in “Be Value Added” helps me adhere to my commitment to engage more emerging leaders, more frequently, no matter where I am serving.?(For this newsletter's purpose, see my introductory edition Why a LinkedIn Newsletter? What to Expect?)

How have you changed your leadership approach as you've moved “up the ladder” or transitioned to a different type of organization???

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[The views and opinions presented herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the DoD or the US Army.]