How Do I Stay on the Fast Track to the Next Level of Leadership?
Apr 8, 2024
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Experienced leadership coach, Muriel Wilkins, guides a leader on strategic advancement, emphasizing the importance of clear objectives, self-awareness, and balancing personal perspectives. They explore finding a 'North Star' in leadership, aligning actions with outcomes, and seeking validation through leadership coaching sessions.
Clarifying expectations and aligning with senior leaders' priorities is crucial for advancement.
Establishing hypotheses and seeking validation help in making informed decisions and building conviction.
Being purposeful in interactions with senior leaders and understanding office dynamics are key strategies for leadership growth.
Deep dives
Identifying Expectations and Priorities
Rachel realized she wasn't fully aligning with her senior leaders due to lack of clarity on their expectations. She identified a need to understand their priorities and sought to clarify what success would look like for her role and function.
Establishing North Stars
Rachel recognized the importance of establishing hypotheses for her 'north stars' – critical guiding points for her perspective. By writing down these hypotheses and validating them with others, she aimed to anchor her decisions and build conviction in her perspectives.
Leveraging Time with Senior Leaders
Rachel acknowledged the need to be purposeful in her interactions with senior leaders. She realized the value of utilizing the time and insights gained from these interactions effectively to better align her approach with their priorities and goals.
Probing Dynamics and Relationships
Rachel considered exploring dynamics and relationships among senior leaders to better navigate office politics. She aimed to gather insights discreetly through conversations and observations, seeking to better understand the interplay between various teams and individuals.
Embracing Clarity and Preparation
Following the coaching session, Rachel transitioned from feeling scattered to gaining clarity about her next steps. She focused on preparing by defining her 'north stars', optimizing her time with senior leaders, and embracing a proactive mindset to navigate her leadership journey effectively.
She has moved up in her organization quickly and often feels like she’s playing catch up. But she also has gotten positive feedback from senior executives that she’s performing well. Now, as her company grows and the advancement opportunities narrow, she wants to be strategic about how to get to the next level of leadership. Host Muriel Wilkins coaches this leader to think through how she needs to adapt to move forward.