Leveling Up
The Leadership Journeys: Leveling Up
Change happens when leaders step up in a significant way.
Remember how weird it was for you as a kid when out-of-town relatives would come for their yearly holiday visit? They would walk in the door, squint, gawk, squint a little more, and then loudly exclaim “Oh my, look how much you’ve grown!” You would muster a smile and nod politely, despite being treated like a show pony. Aside from the excessive fuss, it was weird because you couldn’t see the change. Truth is, you grew quite a bit that year. You just never noticed.
Perhaps this has played out the same way in your career. At some point in your life, you got your first real job. You showed up on time and learned how to perform the basic functions of your role. You put in the time and effort necessary to meet deadlines. Then you learned new skills to bring more value. You became better, faster, and smarter in ways that made people notice. You developed soft-skills. You learned how to be a team player. People respected you not only for your capabilities, but they came to like you as a person, too. You grew. And as a result, you stood out among your peers.
And then it happened. One of the higher-ups in your organization called you into their office and gawked at you while saying some version of “My how you've grown!” For a lot of people, these moments bring back that awkwardness all over again. Because now everyone is staring at you and expecting greatness now that you’ve been anointed for your next level. But are you equipped?
No matter how many level ups you go through, the “awkward” never goes away, right? I can honestly say that at every level-up in my career (from Worker to Manager to Director to VP to Senior Executive to Founder & CEO) I have always felt like an awkward 12-year-old being punched in the arm by my proud uncle. I never seemed to be equipped to thrive when I hit that next level.
This is what Rootstock is all about. We live to meet people in the angst of growth spurts and help them thrive in their next level. If that describes you—whatever level you’re stepping up to—I’d like to suggest you need three things to be successful.
You need to be a person worth following.
You need to provide clarity around purpose, vision and values.
You need to build a great team.
Let’s quickly break these three ideas down into their basic parts. First, being a person worth following is all about authenticity and approachability. The former looks like being comfortable in your own skin and having self-awareness around your strengths and weaknesses. The latter is about having the humility to be open to feedback as a means of continuous self-improvement.
You will also need to provide crucial clarity, specifically in the areas of purpose, vision and values. Success will largely depend on your ability to articulate:
Why your team exists (purpose)
What your team needs to accomplish at a set time (vision)
What kinds of behaviors will be tolerated, celebrated and rejected along the way (values)
And finally, when you’re leveling up, you also need to be able to build a great team. To borrow from Jim Collins, you need to know how to get the right people in the right seats. And how to keep them there. You need to motivate and develop them, and prepare them to lean into healthy conflict (when necessary) for the sake of a healthy culture.
So, fellow leader: is the news of your promotion still bouncing around in the corners of your brain? Do you find yourself wondering if the tools you brought with you even apply anymore? If so, take heart. You’ve leveled up—that’s cause for celebration! The future is bright. You can do this!
For specifics on how Rootstock works with leaders who are leveling up, check out our Journey Map.