Are you scaling the career development wall?

As you grow your career and become more senior in your organisation, two things become more certain. The first is that you have to accept continually learning new skills. Despite your clear abilities utilised in your career so far, these skills alone won’t be enough. You need to either take on new learnings or risk stagnation.

Secondly, you also have to teach and to trust others to do your ‘old’ job. Moving to a new role typically demands taking a more strategic viewpoint: and to do your new job properly you’ll need to first let go of your previous role – and in turn ensure that others can do that role as well as, or even better than you.

This sounds great in theory – in practice it’s far from easy. I remember times in my career when my team size literally doubled. While that’s exciting, it’s also a massive test. You suddenly don’t have the time or mandate to do what you were doing before, such as being close to all the detail or spending as much personal time with your entire team. As such, you need to take a step upwards in your role, and ensure that you take some new leaders up with you.

The learning wall

Imagine this process as scaling a climbing wall. As you’ve mastered the mid-section of this wall, next comes a tricky stage again. This may hurt a little. It’s uncomfortable to leave the familiarity of your previous stage and move to an area where initially at least, you’re out of your depth.

As with the wall idea, a key is to remember to use a support line – and the more useful instructions you get about your next steps, the more assured they’ll be. As Simon Sinek wisely advises, “the best leaders don’t consider themselves experts – they consider themselves students.” Pretending you know all the answers will always limit your growth. 

Be willing to seek advice

Remember those amazing climbers who scaled Mount Everest in 1953 for the very first time? I’m certainly no mountain climber, but I’m sure of one thing. They didn’t achieve this without having moments when at first they were completely clueless.

It’s more than okay to feel uncomfortable: in fact it’s vital. Having doubts shows that you are self-aware: but remember that the phrase ‘life starts outside your comfort zone’ is true for your personal development. And leaving something behind to learn something new is always the ultimate way to grow.

The first key will be asking for advice. At whatever level, nobody expects you to have the all the answers. Those who think they do, probably won’t progress much further. So whether you ask your boss, a peer or a mentor, don’t wait. Just ask.

Coaching others

You’ll need to be an instructor too. Yet remember that these new leaders are not you. Stepping up higher on their development wall will present challenges unique to them, so your instructions can’t be one-way traffic. Listen to them carefully first, to discover the aspects that are most concerning, where they have solved the problems themselves – and where they most need help.

The key to enabling leaders around you to take on more, is to encourage and request advice and feedback. Then make sure you are really as approachable as you wish to be.

Trust the process

Usually the first real test of whether this works comes when somebody first messes up. Mistakes will happen: people will misjudge a leap, or lose their footing on the wall. When it happens, don’t spook everyone by overreacting. Have courage in your convictions and trust the process.

In particular, don’t simply jump in and do the task yourself. Remember that a failure of your team may also be due to an error in your strategy. Own any missteps as a team, and move forward quickly.

Lastly, be patient with the process. If you’re relatively senior in your career, you won’t always see the results straight away. Take a long-term view with some milestones along the way to sense-check your progress. Over time, with courage, communication and self-reflection, you’ll see the benefits of it – and the new leaders you helped groom will start becoming your company engine.

Let’s discuss it

Does this ring true for you? I’d love your feedback. At PageGroup we’re committed to helping our clients, candidates and own people reach their potential. Indeed, I am currently in the middle of a leadership development program to help me keep learning to do my own job better – make sure you have your own plan in place too.

My view is that rather than being a distraction from your company or personal targets, these frameworks build the foundations of your company culture, without which growth is hard to maintain. And having personally seen many lives change over the years, I can assure you that the view at each stage of your climb is well worth the occasional pains along the way.

Read more high-level management and leadership advice here.