Next Level Leadership Readiness refers to an employee’s readiness for a higher-level role in the organisation. While the performance of an employee is measured by his or her successful execution in the current role, many executives often fall short of the needs for their next level role, unless an effort is made to groom them for the next level.
The main reason why Next Level Leadership Readiness is a major challenge for most leaders is that their focus, time and energy are spent on being successful in their current role. They have to
- Perform well in their current role and meet KPIs
- Lead their team and address their needs
- Manage risks, solve problems, manage the workload, seize opportunities and plan ahead
- Constantly watch their behaviours and shape the perceptions stakeholders have about them. Often, many hardworking executives believe they are exhibiting the right behaviour (Q.E.D.) but leave the wrong perception damaging their career prospects.
Given their busy schedules, they have less time and opportunities for preparing themselves for the next level role, which includes increasing their visibility, building a favourable personal brand, subtly leaving their personal stamp on their contributions, building relationships with people that matter and upgrading their skills to suit the next level role.
If the leader is not groomed for the next level, they risk ending up in a role they can’t excel. There are three problems associated with this.
- Executives (or individual contributors) are promoted into roles they don’t deserve.
- Executives are not able to perform in a new higher-level role, despite their past success in lower-level roles.
- Executives are not able to generate positive team dynamics, making the team inefficient or in many cases dysfunctional.
The remedy for this to ensure that employees are aware of where they need to be and stay ready for the next level. This is often overlooked as the focus of most organisations is for the short term. As the duration of employment is getting shorter, organisations are more selective about which employees they should invest in.
Next Level Leadership Readiness is a term coined by Manoj Vasudevan and mentioned in his book, Mastering Leadership The Mousetrap Way. According to The Mousetrap Way, there are five core skills a leader needs to master to get to the next level. The list of 5 core skills comprises an ability to connect, communicate, network, lead, and influence. Of particular interest is the ability to influence without authority. While these skills are handy at any level in the organisation, these become even more critical the higher you grow in your organisation.
Ask yourself, how ready are you for your next level? What does it take for you to be considered for your boss’s job? How do you stand out compared to your peers? What are you doing to bridge the gap? If you need help, check out our 1-on-1 Coaching and Mentoring Program or Executive Transformation Program.
