What’s the number 1 thing you need to do before taking on a new leadership role?

People & Leadership Culture & Values Talent Sourcing & Hiring +2 more

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Former Chief Technology and People Officer in Software, 1,001 - 5,000 employees

One is, do really good at what you do at the time. If you spend too much time thinking about what's next or what's my career path... I do think there's a balance there and that opportunity comes with having built relationships and accomplishments. I feel sometimes this is missing. You have got to do the work sometimes. I think the other thing too is, know the business better than the business does. You need to know the elevator pitch as good as a sales person does and you need to understand the why behind everything we're doing and how it accelerates business.

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Advisor | Investor | Former CIO in Services (non-Government), Self-employed

I agree 100%

Advisor | Investor | Former CIO in Services (non-Government), Self-employed

I think it's just very important to understand what motivates you, right? Why do you get out of bed every morning? To do what you want to do? And understand why, if you want to be the next CIO, why is that motivation? Because sometimes we discover it's not for the right motivations and sometimes it's a buzz around power, right, and having the people, the budgets and so forth but for me it's ultimately, can I have a meaningful impact for my customers and for the business? I think it's just hugely important to know your motivations.

Partner in Software, 1,001 - 5,000 employees

I think being able to provide paths to people and opportunities outside of the traditional track, through mentorship and guidance, is important. And having a diversity of opinions and also being able to think more creatively about where you build your career is also important. Advocacy is one of the other things. A lot of our peers have not been able to represent their teams well and they haven't been able to represent themselves well. When you actually do a tremendous amount of work across the enterprise, you do have to be able to talk about the impact.

I advise everyone that goes into a new role to get two lists together. List number one should be all the things that you did well and saw done well that you would want to make sure that you bring to the new company. It may be technology, it may be processes, what you've done, et cetera. Be able to bring that because you have the opportunity. If you're able to accelerate revenue or really change the customer experience, then that's a story to be told and it does need to be told internally. The second list is stuff that you will never let happen because it happened in the last job. Either yourself, which is, "Hey, I didn't speak up and this happened," or, "I didn't do this," or that stuff or it may be more technology related.Vendors that you had a bad experience with where you know you’re just not going to risk it. I'm not doing that, period.

And finally, I think most people forget that they're responsible for people's careers. I think that's what sets really good managers and exceptional leaders apart. A lot of CIOs that I speak to think it is about you and who you want to become, but the actual proof of it is going to come from the people that you develop over time and where they ended up going. That will be testimony to your own leadership and people will take that to mind.

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Senior Executive Advisor in Software, 10,001+ employees

I really like the idea of the list, that really helps.

Senior Executive Advisor in Software, 10,001+ employees

Being more on the technical side of things, there is this particular activity called a Ikigai diagram which actually focuses on what you're good at, what motivates you, what is happiness for you, what strengths you bring and what you can get paid for. And what I would say is really focus on the value that you bring and the joy that you get. Where exactly do you get the joy and whether your strengths aligned with that. That has actually helped me in a number of my roles and as I decide to grow in my journey, I will be doing the same thing as well. Knowing what motivates and drives me, what brings joy to me and how I can bring joy to other people, and what value I can provide is something that I would definitely invest in before I take on the next role.

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Senior Executive Advisor in Software, 10,001+ employees

https://www.sloww.co/ikigai/

Managing Director in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees

First off, I'd say, make sure that you're excelling at what your current role is. That gives you the right to earn the next role. Secondly, follow your passion. If you're following something that is not your passion, you will probably not do a great job and you might fail. The third thing I find a lot of people miss is, find the right sponsors. And it's different from mentors, right? Sponsors are folks who will support you, who will help you on your journey, but not from a mentorship perspective. I find all too often people forget that. They don't have the right sponsors and they don't honor the sponsors that they do have.

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SVP in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees

I'll double down on that one given the fact that I just went through that journey over the last six months. That was exactly what got me through this transition. It was the sponsors, it was the advocates that were helping me. 100% agree with that. You need to build that.

Senior Executive Advisor in Software, 10,001+ employees

love the comment about Sponsors

Managing Director in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees

It's something I was told very early in my career and was surprised I hardly ever heard it again. So it's now my mission to spread the word :)

CIO in Finance (non-banking), 51 - 200 employees

In VC, we have a real macro view of any business that we go into. We need to know the elevator pitch better than the salesperson, we just know it cold. And that gives us a real opportunity to really understand whatever vertical business that you're in. But what I would also say is, in order to do that, you need to come up for air and you can't be heads down in everything you do.

With new managers, my first real advice to them is, "Okay, if you want to be a manager of people or do you want to be a manager of tech." Two different paths. And I always ask, "How comfortable are you being away from the keyboard?" The further and further away you're on the keys, I say, you're trending towards the people side. But if you feel like, "Hey, part of me is hitting the keys," you may trend a little bit more towards the technical side. They figure that out and then we work their career in whatever direction. I find that the more comfortable people are stepping away from the keyboard, you have time to get that macro view of things. So that's what my real piece of advice is. And then that shifts to, “do I want to go the CTO route or the CIO route?”

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Managing Director in Finance (non-banking), 1,001 - 5,000 employees

CIOs are more effective when they have strong business acumen which is not what is usually recruited for as people think it requires a more technical skill set. That's where I see the role be less effective.

Director of IT in Finance (non-banking), Self-employed

thinking about others dignity

Chief Information Officer in Manufacturing, 10,001+ employees

The #1 thing to consider or you should do before taking on a new leadership role is to understand if this is an operations role or a strategic role? Are you going to be putting out fires or are you going to be the technology arm of the organization?

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Creator Of The Superyacht CRM in Software, Self-employed

Be in a follower shoes…

Senior Executive Advisor in Software, 10,001+ employees

Realize that all the accomplishments that you have had in the past just helped you get through the door. You are now at level 1 and need to earn your right to be treated as their leader.