We have spoken with hundreds of Executives about working from home in recent months. One said to me ‘it’s working, we are more productive’. Another said ‘when people are not in the office, we are not sure how productive they are’.
Leadership roles are hard to find. Once you have one you want to keep it. Are you brave enough to recognize when it’s time to show the leadership to give it up?
We have believed for some time that the best leaders know when it is time to hand the baton to another leader. That normally results in a development opportunity for that leader. As an angel investor I know says ‘everyone does their lap of the track’.
This can be characterized as a phase of leadership. Our experience has shown us that there are generally 3 Phases of Leadership in any role, intervention, empowerment and redundancy.
The reason you got the new role is most likely because of a need for a fresh perspective, you were chosen to do things differently and take the role or responsibility to a new level. In the early stages you will have to intervene, in existing thinking, ways of doing things, to get to know your team and how they think and work. To build on best-demonstrated practice and change what needs to be fixed. To double down on resources or reallocate them.
After intervening, you will have a clear sense of purpose and have built trust in and with your team, if you have handled the intervention with the right transformational coaching behaviours. These are demonstrated in the 4Is model below.
The Components of Transformational Leadership
You will then empower your team to take accountability and responsibility, to grow and develop. They will feel empowered by you.
They will increasingly be able to take on the growth agenda with ease, confidence, and capability. A new leader will probably emerge. Your role is becoming redundant, your job is done, your project has been successful. Time to move on.
In our experience Coaching thousands of Executives, those leaders who recognize when it’s time to move on find their next project (inside or outside the company) more easily, are more authentic and have richer careers. Holding onto what you have too long is not the right thing for you, your team, and your company. Sometimes the phases of leadership are a couple of years, sometimes much, much longer.
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity. The fears are paper tigers. You can do anything you decide to do. You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward.” Amelia Earhart
If you want to discuss or learn more about Executive or Transformational Coaching and Phases of Leadership, please reach out.
Drew Munro, CMC
Partner
Lighthouse NINE Group
One Eva Road, Suite 209 | Toronto, ON M9C 4Z5
Office: 647-975-5312
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drewmunro
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