As you progress to higher levels in an organization, you will inevitably not only be the leader of a team, but you will begin to lead other leaders.
While this may seem similar in scope, leading other leaders requires a different mindset to be effective. These high potential leaders may already have strong skills, experience, and the respect of their teams. They are looking to be further developed and stretched even more. How will you set these leaders up for success?
You will need to leverage your strong foundation of experience, values, and confidence when you manage high potential leaders. How can they complement your skillset, help you expand your network, and lead in areas that will allow you to have a larger level of responsibility? Understand what their career aspirations are so you can help them reach their goals. What opportunities can you give them to drive change, to be seen on a bigger stage, and prepare them for future roles in the organization?
Be intentional and plan out your conversations with them.
They will challenge your thinking, decisions, and your leadership on a regular basis. They need to be visible for themselves and their teams. They want to stand out, influence decisions, be strategic, develop their teams, and progress in their careers. This is what they should be doing and If you think about it, you are doing this same thing with your own career as you work with your management.
Your job is to stretch your direct reports to prepare them as potential successors for you in your role. Empower them with clear ownership for key areas so they have visibility for what they deliver and how they develop their own teams. Encourage their ideas, decisions and provide them opportunities to demonstrate their leadership presence in front of senior management. They need to know that you are there to help them learn from any mistakes that may occur and be there to support their success.