We are now in a climate where the pace and consequences of change are accelerating. Jobs are more intense with ongoing waves of new demands. For some, it feels as if they are on a sandbank nervously looking at a rock and a hard place. The pressure to remain agile, competent and relevant can trigger personal dilemmas and tensions.
Why do some executives succeed better than others? The most effective tactic of successful executives is that they astutely work 'on' their career and not just 'in' their career. They have a range of adaptive strategies to expand the space in which they operate and extend their personal and professional reach.
Expanding their space
Being macro- and micro-centric in their perspective, successful executives view the action from both the 'balcony and the dance floor' continually assessing the future, while striving for outstanding results today. Rather than having a limited vision, they adopt an expansive and external view. Their strategies are fundamentally about choice, difference and advantage. They self-select, pursue ambitions, make their goals known and proactively make their career happen. They are committed rather than compliant - they own the outcome by taking responsibility for their actions, calculating both the risk and how to manage it. Discerning, they trust, but also verify.
Intelligent people know how to solve a problem. The most successful know how to avoid the problem in the first place. Analysis of the industry, role and personal context in which they operate enables them to assess a range of options so tactics can be identified, prioritised and more importantly, realised. Context embraces a number of notions - what you stand for; where you are going; and how you expect to behave. It is as much about deciding what not to do as it is about what will be done. Leadership is highly personal and executives will make important business decisions in their personal way. They articulate this into their personal strategic plan.
In charge of their careers, they find segues to suit their needs and unique capabilities. The ability to recombine skills, competencies and experience provides options to move between functions, divisions or industries. More than just repackaging their background, they stretch assumptions about how their career will evolve with a strategic eye toward emerging business models. If not paranoid, they are highly aware and alert. They use change as a time to make decisions and exploit opportunities. They learn from dealing with uncertainty. These traits give them the insight to recognise a pending inflection point, triggering actions to avoid derailment or worse, a career crisis.
Work-life balance is elusive. The successful accept this. Given what they want to achieve in all domains of their life, they have come to know what truly matters, have a 'personal why' and then set their choices accordingly. They recognise what makes them energised, what drains them and where their imbalance or stress comes from. They become better at pacing themselves. Highly resilient, they have a set of renewal strategies. Effective at setting priorities, they regard time as having an opportunity-cost. They can identify and work on those most critical activities that produce a real and significant business outcome.
Extending their reach
Corporate environments are highly interconnected. This means power increasingly is derived through people - through relationships, authenticity and alliances. Power-to is replacing power-over. The most successful use the authority of their leadership in broader ways and for broader purposes. They use their influence, create change and build teams to develop sustainable approaches. They create meaningful collaboration through shared experiences. They foster a kind of power that nurtures power-with and power-within.
Successful executives regard protecting their franchise as paramount. They actively seek to secure their special position with those who count, drawing on their consummate stakeholder management. They are highly connected with intricate network maps and coveted levels of social capital. They want their voice to matter.
Voice is about being heard, being visible and having the weight to negotiate prized career moves, key assignments and the right level of reward. They assess their value based on inclusion in key decisions and how close they are with the most senior leaders. Executive decision-making is not just about strategy and technical expertise - it relies strongly on authority, political savvy, conflict management and trust.
Some executives in conflict situations are hostage to their fears and negative emotions, failing to see the opportunities or the damages being caused to results and reputations. The most talented know intellectual conflict differs from the interpersonal. Successful executives are aware of their own triggers under pressure and consciously modulate their behaviour, but in ways consistent with their beliefs and core values. The difference between successful executives and others is not that they have never experienced failure, but that they are able to recover and learn from that experience, then move ahead.
Leadership brand is an essential means for focusing the attention of others. Clarity regarding their identity and how they want to be perceived is vital for the successful executive. Knowing their signature strengths and what makes their personal brand distinctive positions them more effectively within their organisation and among external communities. They use this to frame, and influence others' views of who they are and what they can accomplish.
Working the unwritten rules
In executive work, performance counts, but success also depends on insight from a range of experiences while achieving results. Successful executives take charge with adaptive responses to changing environments - they work the unwritten rules; continually design their career strategies; share knowledge, connect and collaborate with their diverse networks and stakeholders; know what truly matters; examine their work-life choices for balance, energy and renewal; and have champions or trusted mentors. They craft their distinctive leadership brand. Above all, they capitalise on their hard-earned franchise.
About the author
Dianne Jacobs is Founding Principal of The Talent Advisors www.thetalentadvisors.com a boutique consulting firm specialising in talent capital, executive coaching and career mentoring. She is a former equity partner at Goldman Sachs JBWere. She may be contacted at dianne@thetalentadvisors.com or join LinkedIn Group: Australian Talent Connection.