Working At The Right Level: What got you to here won't get you to there

Many leaders fail to work at the right level. When you're promoted, there is a subconscious tendency to remain at the old level, trying to do the same things that you did before. But just because you were successful at that level, and as much as it might feel comfortable to stay there, this is a sure fire way to kill your career, and disempower the people around you.


So in this episode I’m going to talk about why what got you to here won't get you to there. I’ll cover the following:


A resource that I believe to be the definitive work on managing the transition through different layers in an organisation, and how to approach each transition, both for yourself and the people you're leading (you can win a free copy of this resource at www.yourceomentor.com/pipeline if you enter in October 2018)
The fact that the higher up you go, the more you lose your original career identity - this can be really challenging and confronting for a lot of people, especially those whose self identity and worth is wrapped up in their professional expertise
I’ll talk about at what point you need to let go of your technical expertise - when do you need to become a leader instead of the expert in your field
I’ll finish up by outlining a five-point plan for how you ensure your transition to the next level is successful (download this PDF here or on our website at www.yourceomentor.com/episode7 and keep it handy so that the next time you're promoted, you can go back and refer to it, helping you to navigate your way through that transition a little easier)


Once you’ve listened to this episode you’ll recognise that working at the wrong level has an incredibly negative impact on a leader and their team. Their inability to work at the level they’re paid to leads to micromanagement, team demotivation, excessive hours and a dysfunctional culture. It’s near impossible to deliver brilliant results when you’re suffering from this.


I know I said that last week’s episode, The Psychology of Feedback, was the most important episode you’ll listen to this year, but I think this one comes pretty close!


It will also help you identify when leaders around you are having difficulty transitioning, and may give you some insights into their struggles. If there’s a leader who you know is struggling with working at the wrong level, please share this episode with them! They may have never heard the concept of getting stuck at level, and this could truly change the trajectory of their career.


Now for those of you who want to get your hands on a copy of The Leadership Pipeline, head to www.yourceomentor.com/pipeline and give us your feedback - we are LOVING the thoughts, reflections and questions that come in each week, it’s helping us create content that you actually need.


As always, I’d love to chat with you one on one so feel free to add me on LinkedIn and send me a direct message, or email me at hello@yourceomentor.com.