It’s 7 AM, and Kelly, a rising star in her tech firm, is already at her desk, juggling client calls, team meetings, and an overflowing inbox. By noon, she’s attended four back-to-back meetings, none of which she feels she was truly present for. As she wolfs down her lunch at her desk, she can’t shake the feeling that despite her frenetic pace, she’s not making progress on what really matters. Every week she thinks
“I just need to get through this week and next week will be better. I’ll be more on top of things and have time to work on that strategy that my leader has been asking for.”
Sound familiar?
Kelly’s story is not unique. It’s a tale as old as the corporate ladder itself – the struggle talented managers face to break free from the operational quagmire and make the leap to true executive leadership. But here’s the kicker: what got Kelly to her current position is precisely what’s holding her back from the next level.
As Peter Drucker wisely noted, “Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.” Kelly’s challenge, and perhaps yours, is to shift from doing everything right to doing the right things.
The Managerial Maze: A Reality Check
Before we dive into solutions, let’s understand the challenge we face with some cold, hard facts:
- According to a study by Harvard Business Review, managers spend an average of 23 hours per week in meetings, leaving precious little time for strategic thinking
- Research from McKinsey found that only 52% of C-suite executives believe their companies make high-quality decisions quickly . The rest? They’re likely bogged down in operational details.
- A survey by The Predictive Index revealed that 44% of managers feel overwhelmed at work. This overwhelm often leads to a focus on immediate tasks rather than long-term strategy.
These statistics begin to paint a clear picture: the path from manager to executive is littered with the remains of those who couldn’t make the leap from ‘doing’ to ‘leading’.
What Senior Leaders Really Want From You: The View from the Top
To understand how to make the leap, we need to understand what senior leaders are looking for when they talk about “stepping up.” Here’s what keeps the C-suite up at night:
1. Strategic Thinking: They want leaders who can see beyond the day-to-day and anticipate future challenges and opportunities.
2. Cross-Functional Impact: They value those who can work across silos and drive organisation-wide initiatives.
3. Innovation and Adaptability: In a rapidly changing business landscape, they need leaders who can create an environment that promotes innovative thinking and action and manage change.
4. Talent Development & Performance Management: They want to see you building a strong bench of future leaders. They also want to know you are actively managing performance issues.
5. Business Acumen: They expect you to build and demonstrate an understanding of the broader business context and make decisions that drive overall company performance.
6. Executive Presence: They look for leaders who can confidently communicate with stakeholders at all levels and can manage up effectively – understanding what matters to the senior leaders around them.
Gary Hamel captures this sentiment perfectly: “Strategic thinking is like exercising a different set of muscles. It’s not about immediate tactical advantage but about building an organisation that can thrive in tomorrow’s uncertain world.”
The Belief Systems Keeping You Stuck
Before we jump into the ‘how’ of addressing some of these development opportunities let’s talk about the fundamental building block – the beliefs that keep talented managers like Kelly trapped in the operational quicksand. These aren’t just habits; they’re deeply ingrained mental models that shape how we view our roles and responsibilities and the value we bring to our role. Identifying the beliefs that are driving your emotional state and behaviours is one of the keys to creating a shift in your behaviours. Here are a few of the old ingrained limiting behaviours I come across in my coaching conversations, the impacts and some examples of some replacement empowering beliefs.
1. The Superhero Complex
- Limiting Belief: “I need to be everywhere and do everything.”
- Impact: Leads to burnout, prevents strategic thinking, and hinders team development.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “By empowering my team, I create more value through strategic leadership.”
2. The Indispensability Illusion
- Limiting Belief: “No one else can do this as well as I can.”
- Impact: Stunts both personal growth and team development, creates bottlenecks.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “My team’s growth and success are a reflection of my leadership.”
3. The Busyness = Productivity Fallacy
- Limiting Belief:“If I’m not constantly doing something, I’m not being productive and not seen as valuable.”
- Impact:Leads to focus on low-value activities, neglecting strategic priorities.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “True productivity is measured by impact, not activity.”
4. The Perfection Paralysis
- Limiting Belief: “Everything needs to be perfect, and I’m the only one who can ensure that.”
- Impact: Creates bottlenecks, undermines team’s psychological safety, inhibits innovation.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “Progress over perfection leads to better outcomes and team growth.”
5. The Short-Term Saviour
- Limiting Belief: “Immediate problems are more important than long-term planning.”
- Impact:Keeps you reactive instead of proactive, neglecting strategic initiatives.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “Balancing short-term needs with long-term vision creates sustainable success.”
6. The Responsibility Hoarder
- Limiting Belief: “If I don’t take responsibility for everything, things will fall apart.”
- Impact:Overloads you, underutilises team, limits strategic focus.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “Distributing responsibility empowers my team and allows me to focus on high-impact areas.”
7. The Urgency Addict
- Limiting Belief: “Everything is urgent and needs my immediate attention.“
- Impact:Creates constant firefighting, neglects important but non-urgent tasks.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “I can differentiate between what’s urgent and what’s important, focusing my energy on high-priority, strategic tasks.”
8. The Comfort Zone Dweller
- Limiting Belief: “I’m good at what I do now, so I should keep doing it.”
- Impact:Limits personal growth and ability to adapt to new challenges.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “Growth happens outside my comfort zone. Embracing new challenges is how I evolve as a leader.”
9. The Lone Wolf
- Limiting Belief: “Asking for help or guidance is a sign of weakness.”
- Impact: Limits perspective, increases stress, misses opportunities for collaboration.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “Seeking diverse perspectives and mentorship strengthens my leadership and benefits the entire organisation.”
10. The Micromanager
- Limiting Belief: “If I’m not involved in every detail, quality will suffer.”
- Impact: Stifles team creativity and growth, wastes time on low-level tasks.
- Replacement Empowering Belief: “By setting clear expectations and trusting my team, I empower them to excel creating more engaging work and growth opportunities for my team while freeing myself for strategic work”
Let’s look at how these beliefs play out in real life:
Scenario: The Superhero Complex in Action
Tom, a marketing manager, prided himself on being available 24/7 for his team and clients. He attended every meeting, responded to every email, and was always the last to leave the office. While his dedication was admirable, his boss noticed that Tom wasn’t contributing to long-term strategy discussions or innovating in his space. Tom was so busy being a superhero that he had no time to be a visionary.
Scenario: The Perfection Paralysis Pitfall
Maria, a product development lead, was known for her meticulous attention to detail. She would spend hours perfecting reports and presentations, often missing deadlines or delaying launches. Her team was frustrated, and upper management was concerned about the slow pace of innovation. Maria needed to learn that, as Sheryl Sandberg put it, “Done is better than perfect.”
Recognising these beliefs is the first step in breaking free from them. But recognition alone isn’t enough. We need a game plan.
The Strategic Shift: From Doing to Leading
Here’s where we separate the wheat from the chaff, the managers from the leaders, the doers from the thinkers. Making the leap from management thinking to executive thinking requires a fundamental shift in how you approach your role. Here’s a battle plan:
- Protect Your Think Time: Block out sacred time for strategic thinking. Research from the University of California, Irvine, shows that it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to a task after an interruption [4]. Protect your strategic time like your career depends on it – because it does. Pro tip: Don’t just block 2 hours and call it strategic time, break it into specific chunks of focused time. I find having an outcome in mind for what I want to achieve in that time-box helps. It can be as simple as 1 hour to develop 2 -3 specific ‘problem statements’ for the presentation.
- Delegate with Purpose: Remember, delegation isn’t about offloading work; it’s about developing your team. A study in the Journal of Organisational Behaviour found that empowering leadership (which includes effective delegation) was positively related to team performance and job satisfaction. For more on delegation read our two part series on delegation.
- Implement a ‘No’ Budget: Just as you budget your money, budget your yeses. Set a quota for commitments and stick to it. Warren Buffett famously said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”
- Cultivate Strategic Relationships: Move beyond your immediate team. This is important to broaden your perspective, understand different points of view within the organisation or with key stakeholders. It is also important to increase your visibility across the organisation to whats e word for supporting your department. Research in the MIT Sloan Management Review suggests that executives with diverse networks are more likely to be promoted and receive higher performance ratings .
- Pursue Progress, Not Perfection: Recognise that perfection is often the enemy of progress. Focus on delivering value incrementally rather than aiming for flawless execution. Encourage a culture of continuous improvement where ‘good enough to ship’ is followed by iterative enhancements. Understand that in many cases, the pursuit of perfection yields diminishing returns and can lead to missed opportunities.For instance, when launching a new product feature, aim to release a minimum viable product (MVP) that solves the core problem, then gather user feedback for improvements. This approach allows you to adapt quickly to market needs rather than spending excessive time perfecting features that may not be valued by users.
- Practice Strategic Curious Questioning: In meetings, train yourself to ask, “How does this align with our long-term goals?” This not only keeps you focused but also signals to others that you’re thinking at a higher level. Looking for more questioning techniques? Read our article on the Socratic Method & Active Listening
Overcoming the Delegation Dilemma
Delegation is often the biggest hurdle for managers transitioning to executive roles. Here’s why it’s crucial and how to do it effectively:
- Why Delegation Matters: Effective delegation frees up your time for strategic work, develops your team’s skills, and demonstrates trust.
- Identify Tasks to Delegate: Look for tasks that are time-consuming, repetitive, or could provide growth opportunities for your team members.
- Match Tasks to Team Members: Consider each team member’s skills, career goals, and development needs when delegating.
- Provide Clear Instructions: Clearly communicate expectations, deadlines, and available resources.
- Trust but Verify: Set up check-ins to monitor progress without micromanaging.
- Celebrate Success: Recognise and reward successful completion of delegated tasks.
“The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self-restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” Theodore Roosevelt
Scenario: The Delegation Breakthrough
Alex, a finance manager, was drowning in spreadsheets and reports. She believed she was the only one who could ensure accuracy, often working late into the night. Her breakthrough came when she was forced to take a two-week vacation. She spent time training her team on key tasks before she left. To her surprise, not only did the team manage well in her absence, but they also introduced some process improvements demonstrating to Alex the power of delegation and trust.
Building the Right Team: Composition and Capability
Your team’s composition and capability directly impact your ability to focus on strategic work. Here’s how to ensure you have the right team:
1. Assess Current Capabilities: Regularly evaluate your team’s skills against current and future needs.
2. Identify Gaps: Determine what skills or roles are missing from your team.
3. Develop or Hire: Decide whether to up-skill existing team members or bring in new talent.
4. Create a Diverse Team: Build a team with diverse skills, backgrounds, and perspectives to enhance problem-solving and innovation.
5. Foster a Learning Culture: Encourage continuous learning and provide opportunities for skill development.
Scenario: The Diverse Team Advantage
When Priya took over as the head of product development, she inherited a team of like-minded individuals with similar backgrounds. Projects were completed quickly, but they lacked innovation. Priya made a conscious effort to diversify her team, bringing in people with different skills and perspectives. Initially, this led to some conflicts and slower decision-making. However, over time, the team began to produce more innovative and comprehensive solutions.
Invest in Team Growth: The Key to Your Strategic Freedom
Developing your team’s capabilities is crucial for freeing up your time for strategic work:
1. Implement a Robust Training Program: Offer regular training sessions, workshops, and learning opportunities – these don’t always need to be paid training programs but might be delivered internally by other team members that have these skills.
2. Encourage Cross-Functional Projects: Allow team members to work on projects outside their usual scope to broaden their skills and perspectives.
3. Mentor and Coach: Dedicate time to mentoring team members individually or finding the relevant mentor for their development needs. Read more about the difference between coaching and mentoring.
4. Promote Knowledge Sharing: Create platforms for team members to share their expertise with each other.
5. Set Stretch Goals: Assign challenging tasks that push team members out of their comfort zones. Provide support mechanisms for them if they need it.
Scenario: The Learning Culture Revolution
David, a sales director, was frustrated that he couldn’t focus on strategic initiatives because he was constantly handling client escalations. He implemented a robust training program, focusing on advanced negotiation skills and product knowledge. He also set up a mentoring system where experienced team members coached newer ones. Within six months, client escalations reduced by 50%, and team members were handling more complex deals independently. This freed up David to focus on expanding into new markets, a strategic priority for the company.
Overcoming the Fear of Failure
The fear of failing as you let go of operational tasks can be paralysing. Here’s how to overcome it:
- Reframe Failure: See it as a learning opportunity rather than a reflection of your worth.
- Start Small: Begin by delegating smaller tasks and gradually work up to larger responsibilities.
- Seek Support: Discuss your concerns with a mentor or coach who can provide perspective.
- Focus on Growth: Remember that your value now lies in your ability to think strategically and lead, not in your operational skills.
- Communicate with Your Leaders: Share your transition plan with your superiors to ensure alignment and support.
Scenario: Embracing Failure for Growth
Jenny, newly promoted to VP of Operations, was paralysed by the fear of making a mistake. She clung to her old tasks, micromanaging her team and avoiding big decisions. Her turning point came when her mentor challenged her to make one “risky” decision a week. Jenny started small, letting her team lead a client presentation. It wasn’t perfect, but the client appreciated the fresh perspective. Gradually, Jenny learned to embrace calculated risks, leading to more innovation in her department and freeing her to tackle strategic challenges.
Maximising One-on-Ones: A Strategic Approach
One-on-one meetings with your team are crucial for both their development and your strategic focus:
- Prioritise These Meetings: Never cancel or reschedule one-on-ones unless absolutely necessary.
- Prepare in Advance: Have a clear agenda and encourage your team members to do the same.
- Focus on Development: Use these meetings to discuss career goals, provide feedback, and identify growth opportunities.
- Address Strategic Issues: Use this time to align your team members with broader organisational goals.
- Listen More, Talk Less: Use these meetings to gather insights from your team that can inform your strategic thinking. Interested in developing your deep active listening skills?
Scenario: The One-on-One Transformation
Mike, an IT manager, used to view one-on-ones as a necessary evil, often rescheduling or cutting them short. His team felt unsupported and turnover was high. On advice from a leadership coach, Mike committed to never cancelling one-on-ones and to using them strategically. He started each meeting by asking, “What’s the most important thing we should discuss today?” This simple change led to deeper conversations, better problem-solving, and increased team engagement. Mike found that these meetings became his best source of insights into team dynamics and potential issues, allowing him to be more proactive in his leadership.
Identifying and Addressing Key Business Issues
To bring value to the business and align with senior leadership priorities:
- Stay Informed: Regularly review company reports, industry news, and competitor analysis.
- Attend Executive Meetings: Even if you’re not presenting, listen for the issues that concern top leadership.
- Conduct Stakeholder Interviews: Regularly meet with key stakeholders to understand their priorities and challenges.
- Analyse Data: Look for trends and patterns in business data that could indicate future challenges or opportunities.
- Align Your Efforts: Ensure your strategic initiatives directly address the issues that matter most to senior leadership.
- Communicate Impact: Regularly report on how your strategic work is addressing key business issues.
Scenario: The Strategic Listener
Lisa, a rising star in marketing, was skilled at executing campaigns but struggled to contribute meaningfully to executive discussions. She started dedicating time each week to analysing industry trends and company data. In one executive meeting, while others were focused on a recent dip in sales, Lisa pointed out a subtle shift in customer behaviour that could impact long-term growth. Her insight led to a strategic pivot that not only addressed the immediate sales issue but positioned the company for future success. Lisa’s ability to identify and address this key business issue marked her transition from a tactical executor to a strategic leader.
The Payoff: From Manager to Leader and ultimately to Executive
By shifting your focus from the operational to the strategic, you’re not just changing how you work – you’re transforming who you are as a leader. You’re moving from conducting the orchestra to composing the symphony.
The results speak for themselves. A 10-year study by Harvard Business Review found that executives who were able to think strategically were 10 times more productive than their peers. The study also revealed that executives who actively engaged in strategic thinking and planning were able to identify new growth opportunities 5 times more effectively than their counterparts. These strategically-minded leaders were better equipped to see the bigger picture, anticipate challenges, and position their organisations for long-term success
Remember Kelly from our opening story? After implementing these changes, she found herself not just managing her team, but shaping the future of her entire division. Her calendar became a reflection of her priorities, not just her responsibilities. And those feelings of overwhelm? They were replaced by a sense of purpose and impact.
The path from manager to executive isn’t about doing more; it’s about impacting more. It’s about lifting your view from the trenches of operations to more strategic horizons.
It’s about making the leap from being a doer to being a thinker, from managing tasks to leading change.
So, are you ready to make the leap?
Pick one thing you can deliberately practice today.
