Making a leadership transitions is more than acquiring new skills and positioning oneself as eligible for a position.  To be taken credibly job changing MBAs and business leaders must demonstrate suitable maturity of thinking about how to perform in the new role.

Research shows the typical blockages to performance, when operating at senior and executive leadership levels, result from approaching problems with perspectives based upon what derived success at lower management levels.

Recognising the change in what drives success at executive management levels requires an adjustment of perspective and the ability to identify those leadership moments where new responses are required. 

Adjusting to change can be an emotionally unsettling experience.

So do we trust our IQ?

It is true that our rational thinking performs well with available data and that as we get into the new job we discover more and more useful information to help us make decisions.  But we often don’t allow ourselves to follow it.

Quite rightly on occasion the logical answer isn’t right for a specific situation.  If our confidence is low and our emotional intelligence (EQ) suggests we can’t place much trust or weight on certain pieces of data our decision making quality declines.

For these reasons when we work with new people in a new job context we can often reach poor decisions.

75% of high-potential leaders experience significant to moderate problems when they move into a new role (Shaw & Chayes)

70% of senior human resource professionals agreed that success or failure during the transition period is a strong predictor of overall success or failure in the job (Watkins)

50% of executives estimated to eventually derail (Hogan, Hogan & Kaiser)

If average transitions take from the start of the role 6-9 months to reach solid performance what are you doing to ensure you are personally successful?  If you are leading others how do you bring them onboard and assist them beyond the company induction programme?

About the Author

Peter Fennah is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and Executive Coach