Your 2020 Executive Development Plan

Working with CEO’s in the areas culture development and strategic planning, I continually see executives operating with a narrow point of view on their organization. If you are an executive stuck in your functional silo, you need to set a development plan in action to shift your executive position into an organizational role. 

I'll often hear from executives comments like these:

• "I'm happy if the CFO just owns that."
• "Ive never had to run a HR team before. Not sure what's expected of me."
• "I couldn't possibly oversee two departments. I've always been in sales."

Being an executive is no longer a functional role, even though you are overseeing a key functional area of the business. Typically this hasn’t been shared with you nor do these expectations get addressed in your organizational responsibilities.

As an executive, you need work with and through other people, groups, teams, functions and departments to attain important organizational goals. The more you know about those groups, the more you can accomplish effectively. However acquiring cross-functional skills can be daunting especially when most of the time you are knee-deep in transforming your own team’s work. It will require concerted efforts to learn about functional areas from all of your colleagues at all levels.

The reward for developing cross-functional capability for you is an expanded set of career options, a clearer understanding of the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, a broader network of colleagues, and a greater capacity to achieve your company’s strategic goals.

Here are 9 ideas on how to develop cross-functional capabilities so you can be looked upon as a contributing member of your executive team:

Develop a clear vision for all domains of your life: professional, personal and health & wellness:

• Hire a coach or embark on a vision planning process. Set a target time frame of 5 to 10 years.
• Gain clarity on your future and lead your life through your vision.
• Expect the process to be ongoing, chaotic and iterative. Even the most visionary leaders continue to fine-tune their visions.
• Understand your role as a visionary leader: What is most important to you? What are your deeply held values? What kind of person do you want to be? What do you want others to remember about you? What legacy do you want to leave with your loved ones? What legacy do you want to leave your organization? What accomplishments would leave you satisfied that you had contributed to your part of the world?

Consume financial information readily.

• Identify a financial advisor as a mentor and discuss financial decisions with them before taking action.
• Learn to read and interpret annual reports. Go back several years if you are at a public company. If private, check out your competition through their company website. Sit in on a shareholder's call. What’s the company’s financial health? Review management discussions and commitments to shareholders. See if the commitments are addressed in the next years’ reports and if the management team honoured their commitments to shareholders.
• Interact with the financial specialists in your organization. Understand their roles and capabilities and spend time getting to know your financial support staff.

Use strategic models to help formulate strategy.

• Meet with strategic planners or facilitators (like me!) and ask questions to gain an understanding of the strategic analysis model(s) they use and the reasons they recommend this approach. Example, enterprise level organizations may use McKinsey's 7S model; or mid-level companies may use Vern Harnish’s One-Page Plan; or smaller companies may use Gino Wickman’s Traction model. They are all helpful...some more than others.

Learn about change management.

• Adopt a model for change in your organization. Change models help to provide a conceptual framework for communication, decision making and leadership.
• Share information with your colleagues, team and across the organization. Don't wait for a formal invitation. Educate your cross-functional neighbours on what you are doing to drive the company's vision and strategy and see if they have any ideas on how to get there.
• My trusty resource on leading change is John Kotter, (retired) MIT professor from his article on Leading Change: Why Transformation Efforts Fail.

Acquire a wide-angle view of the organization.

• Analyze your organization's formal structure to get an understanding of the organization as a whole.
• Review your organization's overall strategies, including corporate strategy (what business you are in or should be in), functional strategy (the value chain elements and operational methods used), the business strategy (how to position the organization's products and services in the marketplace and compete assertively).
• Learn about each functional area. (Note: I find it interesting when an executive is asked by their CEO to cover off another executive's department. The reaction is often met with uncertainty, nervousness, bewilderment. Know what your colleagues do to lead their functional area.)

Practice reciprocation.

• Seek to assist others whenever you can. Look for ways to genuinely serve people, such as praising an employee in another department for a good job on their presentation or report or offering to assist another executive or group on a project.
• Help other people. Notice when a colleague is overloaded and provide help or support.
• Return favours. When others assist you, find ways to assist them.

Work through conflict.

• Conflict is inevitable in any relationship; whether it's a work relationship or a marriage.
• Openly address and resolve conflict. Don't view it as a breakdown. Rather look upon the conflict as an impetus for a new solution.
• Allow people around you to challenge you, even to the point of conflict. Make it safe for them to express their points of view.

Strengthen your role as a team member.

• Encourage your boss to view you and your colleagues as a team, rather than simply viewing you as a collection of individual executives with differing responsibilities.
• Share points of vulnerability with your colleagues. Leverage your colleagues as a sounding board.
• Offer to partner with one or more colleagues on projects, problems, or organizational initiatives.
• Champion their suggestions.

Build your general management skills:

• Manage at least two departments in your current position. Even step in to supervise a colleagues team when they are on vacation, leave-of-absence, etc.
• Assume responsibility for a project requiring multiple management skills, such as product development, a new location start-up, or a major technology introduction.
• Staff your team with individuals who are strong in areas in which you have less knowledge, skill or experience. Learn as much as you can from their insight and perspective.
• Talk to several executive colleagues who have successful general management track records. 
• Consider retaining consultants or advisors who can expand your knowledge of specific functions or activities. Actively use them as your teachers.
• Attend an executive school or seminar designed for general managers and concentrate on the topics with which you have less familiarity. 

Whether you are new to a company or role, your 2020 Executive Development Plan awaits you.

About Brenda:

I am Brenda Rigney. I have been leading teams and organizations for 25 years. My clients are Founders, CEO’s and Executive leaders that want to make a bigger difference with their teams. These leaders are vested in connecting with their people, aligning the company culture and strategy, and developing themselves to be a mindful leader with their work, their relationships and their well-being. I am at my best when I am living my vision of expanding the potential of women, as done by mentoring young women in business, learning how to advance women executives on boards, or fundraising to improve the rural conditions of women in third world countries. I reside in Vancouver, Canada.