Lights, Camera, Action: Stepping Up to Your New Executive Role

Think of stepping into your first executive role after a successful career as a senior manager like
taking the helm as a director on a large film set for the first time.

As a senior manager, you have proficiently managed your department, just like running a specific production department in a film crew. But now, as an executive, your set expands. It's no longer about directing one department, now you're overseeing the entire production.

Navigating this transition smoothly requires quite a bit of extra preparation and planning that you may not fully realize is necessary. It's totally worth it though, because the view and responsibilities from the director's chair are both uniquely different and gloriously fulfilling!

In this article, we:

• demystify this critical yet tenuous transition process
• provide insights into the key distinctions between the two roles
• guide you through creating a personal development plan; and
• highlight where to turn for help

Reimagining the Corporate Environment

When you imagine a "corporation", what scene springs to mind? A bustling film set, perhaps?
As a senior manager heading a particular department, like costumes or visual effects on a film set, your focus was typically vertical and deep, centered on specific teams and tasks. You ensured that your department's work aligned with the overall production and contributed to the final cut.

The focus of an executive is wide, not deep. Now, your role transforms into that of a director, harmonizing the efforts of various departments to create the final product. It's about stepping back and seeing the big picture—seeing how each part contributes to the overall story and their collaboration creates a masterpiece.

The challenge lies in transitioning from maintaining one department's efficiency to influencing the entire production's performance.

Understanding the Gap Between Senior Manager and Executive Leader

One key difference between these roles lies in decision-making. As a senior manager, you're like the stunt coordinator, leading your crew of stunt performers to collectively execute a complex action sequence as part of the overall film.

But when you step into an executive role, you become the director, responsible for guiding the entire production towards a unified and captivating performance - often amidst the chaos of the shooting schedule, unexpected on-set challenges and the ambiguity typical of large productions.

Another major distinction is in your team role. Senior managers are team leaders, operationally focused within a functional role. But your primary allegiance shifts when you ascend to an executive position.

Even though you may have a strong connection to one part of the production, for instance, the cast, stunt crew, or post-production team (or Procurement, HR or Finance), now there are multiple departments across the set that, in various ways, depend on you for guidance and direction. You must consider them all as equally significant parts of the final cut.

It's also important to draw the distinction that, first and foremost, you are a member of the Executive Team. This is now your primary team. Your priority becomes ensuring the collective success of the production. Every actor and every department contributes to the whole, and your role is to build strong peer relationships, ensuring all parts work together harmoniously in creating a beautiful, impactful film.

Preparing Yourself for the Transition

Just as a conductor wouldn't dream of directing an orchestra without understanding each instrument's unique qualities and harmonies, your preparation for an executive role should be similarly comprehensive.

Just as a director wouldn't dream of making a film without understanding each department's unique contributions and the narrative's nuances, your preparation for an executive role should be similarly comprehensive.

While both roles require leadership and technical skills, taking the director's chair involves a whole new realm of capability, including:

• Understanding and coordinating a large cast, complex scenes, and the journey of numerous characters. Your mental model needs to evolve, your skills need honing, and your perspective needs to broaden. Reflect on the increased scale of your new role. Begin by learning more about all the different parts of the organization, especially the areas you are less familiar with. This will help you develop a holistic view of the business, which is essential at the executive level.
• Assess your leadership style. You need to lead not just by managing but by inspiring. How well do you understand the company's vision and strategy? Depending on whom you speak to, you may encounter different perspectives, and it's worth spending time with the CEO and Chief Strategy Officer to obtain first-hand information. Prepare to communicate the vision compellingly, help teams understand their roles towards achieving the strategy, and create an environment that fosters creativity, collaboration, and innovation.
• Think about your decision-making approach. How have you been making decisions up to now? What leads you to favor one direction over another? Are you comfortable sitting in the messiness of ambiguity for a while without jumping to a solution too quickly – and at the same time, not overanalyzing things? How do you feel about making strategic decisions with significant long-term impacts when many facts are unavailable? If not, it's time to develop this ability.

Crafting a Personal Development Plan

Your Personal Development Plan (PDP) will be your roadmap during this transition. It should be tailored to bridge the gap between your current skills and those required in your executive role. A simple exercise to start with is conducting a personal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. Identify areas where you need to grow, including understanding the broader business, strategic thinking, influencing skills, and team development.

One way of doing this is the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) framework, originally used by Intel and popularized by Google. This model encourages setting ambitious objectives and measurable key results. The OKR model consists of:
Objectives: What you intend to achieve. These goals should be clear, actionable, and somewhat ambitious.
Key Results: These are measurable and time-bound ways to achieve the objectives.

An example of an OKR goal could be:

The time frame for your PDP will vary, but a reasonable starting point is two years. Review it regularly and make necessary adjustments as you progress.

This approach aligns personal development with organizational objectives and provides clear ways to track progress and success. Make sure you outline how you will measure progress, such as through feedback from colleagues, or a mentor.

Where to Turn for Assistance

One place to start is to seek out courses, conferences and webinars, read books on leadership, and sign up for edu-mailers dedicated to transitioning, like Two-Minute-Tuesday™.

However, your transition becomes much easier when you have seasoned professionals to help you navigate your symphony of leadership. Options to consider include:

• Mentors from within your organization or industry, who have successfully made this transition. They can offer invaluable advice and share their experiences, helping you avoid common pitfalls.
• An executive transition coach, who can help you prioritize your learning outcomes, develop your executive leadership style, provide objective feedback, and keep you accountable for your PDP. Ideally, they should also be available for quick laser-coaching meetings when unexpected emergencies arise. If you're going this route, your coach should have the appropriate levels of both executive and coaching experience – not simply be an executive coach!
• Don't overlook the importance of networking. Peers from different industries, roles and geographic locations can provide a wealth of information and diverse perspectives that will broaden your understanding of the business landscape. Increase the impact further by joining a peer group transition coaching program.

If a faster approach with a guaranteed outcome is more your style, consider joining a program specifically for transitioning executives, like ExeConfidential™.

ExeConfidential™ is the first membership platform of its kind in the world, created uniquely for women in transition. Our members have access to all of the above support (and a whole lot more) – right at your fingertips, just when you need it the most!

Failing to Plan is the Pits

Embarking on this journey without a plan comes with serious pitfalls. It's like starting production on a movie without a screenplay - it's all too easy to lose the plot or end up with a box-office failure.

The transition to executive leadership involves developing a new mindset, skillset, and network. Without planning and preparation, and in the absence of expert guides who understand the gap, you risk being stressed, ineffective and overwhelmed by the responsibilities and the pace.

Your executive career is not the only thing at risk here. Failing to plan your transition might leave you with unhappy teams, difficult conflict, an insufficient understanding of the broader business and poor strategic decisions, to name a few. This disarray will adversely affect the overall cohesion of the entire film production.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, every scene in the film is commissioned, and each stage of your executive journey requires comprehensive planning and robust personal development. As Benjamin Franklin aptly stated,

"By failing to plan, you are planning to fail."

You have been chosen for this role because you've demonstrated the potential to contribute at an even higher level. By investing time and effort into your transition now, you are setting yourself up for a successful executive tenure and, in turn, enabling your organization to thrive under your leadership.
Every great film director was once a first timer, and every great executive was once in your shoes. So, take your first step in this significant transition. Begin planning, set your goals, and seek guidance.
Your production team is eagerly waiting to see the cinematic masterpiece that bears your executive stamp!

For senior managers stepping up to Director, Senior Director, or Senior Vice-President roles, the journey can be particularly daunting. You're entering a new league, and not just because the water cooler has been upgraded to a fancy espresso machine. The tactics that previously secured your success might not cut it anymore-the stakes are higher, the pressure intensifies, and it's time to raise your game.

What next?

You could be a newly appointed executive who is ready to make her mark early on as a confident, respected member of the Executive Team.

You could be preparing yourself to imminently take on your first executive role.

Or you could be a C-suite Executive, committed to ensuring your senior managers add value as executives from the get-go.

Either way, you're in the right place.

We've assisted hundreds of executives, teams, and organizations in achieving goals like these, and we're eager to do the same for you. But, this is not for everyone, so let's start with an exploratory conversation.

We'll discuss your needs and goals and answer your questions. If one of our programs is the right fit for you, we'll show you why. If not, we’ll let you know why too. Regardless, you'll leave with a clearer vision of your best next step.

So, if you’re eager to create far greater success for yourself and your company, click the link below and book a call with us now.

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