Turning points: making the transition to senior management

AUTHOR: Craig Hawke   DATE: 21.09.05   ISSUE 2, 2005

The transition to senior management can be a pivotal turning point in your career. It can propel your career towards greater heights, or stall your so-far successful career trajectory. It is no surprise that executive derailments typically occur in the first year of a transition to senior management.

"Research has consistently identified two reasons for executive derailment: problems with interpersonal relationships and the inability to change." Craig Hawke

Just as the baton change represents the greatest risk of failure during a relay race, the early stage of your transition to senior management represents a similar risk to you and your organisation.

While there is extensive research and literature on “what makes a good leader”, there is limited information on how executives actually make the transition to senior management. A recent AGSM survey of 50 General Managers and Department Heads revealed some interesting results about the challenges executives face and the need to adopt a strategic approach to managing such a significant career transition.

Taking a more strategic approach to managing your transition to senior management will ensure that you become more effective more quickly.

Executive transitions are a priority for everyone

The combination of baby-boomer executives retiring and the increasing frequency with which managers change jobs has led to significant churn in executive teams. Our survey found one-third of senior managers have been in their roles for less than 18 months, with a further one-third expected to leave in the next three years.

Executives’ transitions can have a broad organisational impact. Harvard Professor Michael Watkins’ study of Fortune 500 organisations found that one-quarter of managers in a company will be starting a new role each year. Typically, twelve other managers (the individual’s boss, peers and direct reports) will be affected by how successfully the new manager makes this transition and becomes effective in the new position.

This has much broader implications for organisations and highlights the need to develop and implement strategies for managing career transitions.

Survey findings: the challenges

Research has consistently identified two reasons for executive derailment: problems with interpersonal relationships and the inability to change. While every career transition is different, our survey identified similar challenges (see Table 1).

Table 1: A new senior manager’s top 10 challenges



These can be summarised as four main challenges.

Challenge 1: Letting go of the detail and acting more strategically

Earlier career success is often due to your operational skills and task-based leadership. Letting go of the detail can be difficult when previous success was due to operational skills. However, a strength can become a weakness, and the weakness becomes important. A typical example is a “hands-on” middle manager who is promoted to a Department Head position, but this style is now regarded as “micro-managing” and not strategic in a more senior environment.

Challenge 2: operating outside your comfort zone

The new manager is expected to lead change, often in an unfamiliar business environment, and before acquiring the new skills and behaviours required for this role. Career transitions can be tumultuous and stressful times.

Challenge 3: managing upwards

This means developing an effective working relationship with your new boss, and the broader requirement to influence upwards, sideways and externally. More senior roles require a relationship-based leadership style, influencing without authority skills, and the ability to both build trust and create a high-performing team.

Challenge 4: balancing early wins with realistic goals

Executives spoke of being watched in their new role, and the importance of making significant early changes (or “wins”) to establish their personal credibility. This was countered by the risk of setting unrealistic goals.

Survey findings: transition strategies

Our survey identified a range of strategies executives use when making the transition to senior management (see Table 2).



These can be summarised as five key transition strategies.

Strategy 1: adopt a strategic approach to learning

If your new role requires different skills and behaviours, you need to adopt a strategic approach to learning. One way of doing this is to complete a personal skills audit to identify any gaps in your skills or behaviour. This involves:

1. identifying the skills, leadership style and strategic mindset required to succeed in your new role, as often these will be different from those which delivered success in your previous role, and
2. assessing your own skills against these criteria to identify gaps.

One executive’s advice was: “Be brutal. Gain a critical assessment to understand the gaps between your current skills and behaviour against those required. The earlier you know this, the better, as you can then do something about it.”

The skills gaps may be functional or strategic. One recently promoted General Manager who led complex union negotiations as part of a business turnaround noted:

“The promotion had a high degree of risk. I had to quickly learn negotiation skills and how the total business operated. Completing a negotiation program, and coaching by a former CEO, helped me [address this gap].”

For other executives, the gap may be in leadership, influencing and political skills. One financial services executive recognised that his passion for details and disdain for internal politics were now potential derailers in a general management role. He focused on developing relationships with important Head Office senior managers, developing his management team so he could reduce his involvement in operational issues, and used an Executive Coach to develop his own leadership style.

Executives used a number of different learning approaches to address their skills gaps. The four most helpful learning approaches identified were:
1. learning on the job
2. learning from previous mistakes
3. previous development assignments, and
4. external education programs.

It appears that the most powerful learning is when it relates to our immediate requirements, or when we reflect on past behaviour with the benefit of new understanding.

Gaining external feedback is important to avoid “blind spots”, which can become potential derailers. One executive emphasised: “Be proactive in seeking support and feedback from peers and key stakeholders.”

Interestingly, executives can be feedback-starved at a time when feedback is most required.

Finally, executives highlighted the importance of identifying a strategy to quickly understand the new business environment, players and issues.

One approach is to ask each direct report:
1. What are our biggest opportunities?
2. What is holding us back from exploiting these opportunities?
3. What should we be doing differently ?

This approach will also quickly uncover information about the organisation, internal politics, and the strengths and weaknesses of your new team.

One executive added an important caveat: “You don’t have to know more than your subordinates to effectively manage them.”


Strategy 2: manage upwards

The most frequent advice surveyed executives gave executives in transition was: “Insist on clear expectations.”

Expectations covered both objective goals and leadership style.

There is often an unspoken belief that promoted executives will innately understand what is required in a new role. One General Manager in a services business, previously the National Sales Manager, originally believed he was promoted to win major new clients and coach other sales executives. Three months later he realised his boss’s expectation was that he create a new, sustainable business model and lead his team to develop new value propositions.

One executive emphasised: “Have a clear understanding of the objectives of the role, and your boss’s interpretation of this.”

Another took a broader definition of managing upwards: “Identify key stakeholders early and discuss their expectations of you.”

Some may argue it is the manager’s role to communicate clear expectations to their direct reports. Often, this does not happen. Instead, it is in your interests to initiate discussions about expectations.

Managing upwards is not something that we intuitively know how to do, and may involve changing your own communication and management style to be aligned with your boss.

A manufacturing executive wrestling with poor plant delivery performance spoke of his increasing frustration with an aloof General Manager who was only interested in the plant’s medium-term plant relocation strategy. This executive felt that there wouldn’t be a plant to relocate if his boss couldn’t help him fix the delivery problems. He only made progress when he changed his interstate schedule so that they could travel together. Informal discussions, often in taxis or over breakfast, provided opportunities to discuss both strategic and tactical issues.

Another participant advised: “Understand what drives your manager’s manager, so you understand what drives your manager.”


Strategy 3: work to a 90-day plan

While not always called a “90-day plan”, there was a consistent theme that a transition is a complex event, and needs to be approached like a project.

One executive’s advice was: “Make a shortlist of what you will achieve in the first six months. Do these things to establish credibility and a sense of control.”
One airline executive used a 90-day approach. Before starting, he researched the organisation through the internet and networks.

He had met his new manager several times to understand business issues and, more importantly, start thinking about how to develop an effective working relationship. A 90-day plan was divided into three monthly plans with milestones for understanding the business, people and opportunities.

In his book, The first 90 days, Michael Watkins emphasises the primary objective of this period is to gain momentum. Failure in understanding key business drivers, gaining alignment with key stakeholders or poor decisions can quickly erode the initial goodwill and momentum.

Delivering early wins is important in the first 90 days. As one executive said: “People are looking to you for leadership and focus. Provide it.”

Another executive suggested: “Set yourself some achievable and externally visible immediate goals.”

Examples of early wins were as diverse as quickly progressing a new market-entry strategy that had stalled, or reversing an unpopular working conditions decision by a predecessor. The 90-day plan also provides a process to check that goals are realistic. The enthusiasm generated in new positions can easily translate into setting unrealistic goals and expectations. “Less is more” is often good advice for transitions. Achieving a few early wins that are important to key stakeholders is more effective than trying to implement unrealistic changes.


Strategy 4: build alliances and support structures

More senior roles require a greater focus on building alliances and influencing upwards, sideways and externally. A finance industry General Manager explained that she felt like the “new kid on the block” and said: “It was important to develop these relationships and understand how I add value to my peers.”

Another executive said: “Peer support is vital to solving issues.”

Seek opinion leaders —those who are respected internal and exert influence —and discuss how your priorities are important to both the organisation and themselves.

Related to this is the importance of “fitting in” with the culture of the new organisation or team. Strategies mentioned included establishing personal credibility with key stakeholders, being aware that different organisations use different business “language” and approaches, and being respectful of the existing team’s past success while still leading change.

Finally, it is important to recognise the personal stress of a career transition. Support from one’s spouse/partner was one of the most effective career transition strategies, with nearly half the surveyed executives rating this support as critical to a successful career transition.


Strategy 5: focus on personal reinvention

Finally, an overarching strategy is that career transitions often require a personal reinvention.

Nearly all surveyed executives said they made a conscious effort to let go of skills, values and behaviours that were no longer appropriate in the new role. One participant encapsulated it as: “The strengths that got you to where you are today will be the weaknesses that prevent you from going where you need to go tomorrow. So learn new behaviours.” Nothing happens without this fundamental shift in belief systems. The new executive also needs to “create” time to operate at a more senior and complex level.

One of the most frequently repeated pieces of feedback from surveyed executives was the importance of delegation. Two examples were: “Stop doing the things you used to. Spend the time doing a thorough handover and then leave it.” and “Delegate. Delegate. Delegate.”

Make it a high priority to determine how to reinvent yourself for your more senior role. Often some form of watershed event is required. This may be attending an external/internal education program to develop new skills or values, moving to a new location or modelling yourself on a mentor.

A quick transition risk checklist

Career transitions can be stressful and busy times. The following checklist may help you assess potential risks that could derail your transition.

Checklist: assess your transition risk



Further reading

Charan R, Drotter S, Noel, J 2001, The leadership pipeline, Jossey Bass, San Francisco.
Gabarro J, Kotter J 1993, “Managing your boss”, Harvard Business Review, 71(3), pp. 150–7.
Van Velsor E, Leslie J 1995, “Why executives derail”, Academy of Management Executive, 9(4), pp. 62–72.
Watkins, M 2003, The first 90 days, Harvard Business School Press, Boston.


Craig Hawke is the Manager, Learning & Development at the Australian Graduate School of Management (craigh@agsm.edu.au).