![]() ![]() What’s needed, we believe, is what we call “catalyst leaders.” They represent the gold standard of leadership. ![]() Rapid changes in the business environment require a rethinking of the traditional role of a leader. If, instead, they seek to make a difference and think they would enjoy seeing people around them succeed, then they are on the right track.Ĭhanging Times Call for a New Kind of Leader If those motivations are to gain more power and higher pay, they may very well be disappointed. They also need to examine their own motivations to lead. Plus, the new leader’s manager should be trained to provide coaching and support on a regular basis. Development and learning programs should be in place to begin building leadership skills months before a transition, not after. ![]() Unfortunately, the majority of organizations do not provide the support required to enable leaders to successfully transition into a first-time leadership position. When we asked leaders in our “Leaders in Transition: Stepping Up, Not Off” study to rank a list of life challenges in order of greatest difficulty, making a career transition was deemed more challenging than personal illness or managing teenagers. The transition from an individual contributor to a leader is not an easy one and should not be underestimated. There’s No Underestimating How Stressful the Transition Can Be Potential leadership candidates also need to be able to make their own decisions without pressure or the fear of career consequences. To help ease the transition for new leaders, organizations need a robust selection or promotion process that measures both leadership skills and the motivation to lead. When leadership is the result of an individual’s choice, they are more likely to bring to the role the right attitudes and behaviors that will breed success. That means the vast majority of individuals promoted into leadership positions aren’t necessarily there because they want to be. The truth is, those who choose to be leaders are more successful in the role, while those who didn’t choose to be a leader are three times more dissatisfied and two times more likely to quit. Another 11 percent, meanwhile, said, “There was no one else for the job.” In DDI’s “Finding the First Rung” study, we asked 1,130 front-line leaders, “How did you become a leader?” Only 9 percent “asked for it,” whereas most were promoted due to their technical abilities. Never mind that the skills that often enable an individual contributor to perform at a high level typically are not the same ones that will make for an effective leader. In other words, they were promoted into leadership because they were high-performing individual contributors. As Figure 2 shows, among the top reasons is that they were promoted as a reward for their technical expertise. To get at why there’s so much angst associated with becoming a leader, it’s important to understand why people become leaders in the first place. Those Who Choose to Be Leaders Are More Successful Let’s examine some of the realities about new leaders. It’s also about understanding the specific challenges facing new leaders, grasping what a successful leader needs to be and do now, and taking into consideration the often-underestimated impact that effective leaders can have on the organization - and beyond. This goes beyond providing leadership development, though that certainly is important. Instead, there is much that organizations can and should do to help increase the likelihood that their newly minted leaders will be set up for success, grow into the role more quickly, and become proficient and effective. Only 11 percent, meanwhile, said they were groomed for the role through a development program. One thing we found was that while stepping up as a manager is one of the most courageous decisions in one’s career, more than 87 percent of first-time leaders feel frustrated, anxious and uncertain about their new role. In far too many organizations, new leaders unfortunately are figuratively thrown into the deep end to sink or swim - either to figure out on their own how to become a successful leader or to fail miserably and retreat, disillusioned, back to the ranks of individual contributors, perhaps never again to try their hand at a leadership role. Our organization, Development Dimensions International, has studied leadership transitions and found that the struggles of new leaders are both real and widespread. ![]() It’s not just anecdotal evidence that underscores how tough it can be to become a leader for the first time. => Sink or Swim: Setting First-time Leaders Up for Success => Too often new leaders are figuratively thrown into the deep end to sink or swim - either to figure out on their way or to fail miserably, never again trying their hand at a leadership role. Sink or Swim: Setting First-time Leaders Up for Success Array ![]()
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