Leadership isn't always about winning. It's about making mistakes, failing, and finding your way back. This article is a testament to that - a mistake I made early in my leadership career and the invaluable lesson I learned along the way. Remember, it's okay to stumble, as long as you learn from it.
Before we delve into my mistake, let's address a common challenge in leadership-the shift from managing individual contributors to leading leaders. It's a transition that often catches many rising managers off guard, and for good reason. A study by CEB Global found that 60% of new managers fail within the first 24 months of their promotion. Why? Because the skills that made you a star individual contributor or even a great manager of doers don't necessarily translate to leading leaders. You're not alone in this struggle.
When managing individual contributors, a big chunk of your job is skills coaching. You've got a smaller team, and you're often still close enough to the work to guide them effectively. You're helping them execute, prioritize, and develop their skills. It feels natural because you were probably crushing it in that same role not too long ago.
But when you start managing leaders, things change. Suddenly, you're dealing with experts who know more about their specific areas than you do. Maybe one of your teams is all about front-end development, but your background is in backend. Or you've got a marketing whiz who speaks in acronyms you've never heard of.
For new managers, the skills and abilities that were most important to their success as individual contributors are less important in their new leadership roles. And often, new managers are not adequately prepared for their new role.
As you ascend in leadership, your focus needs to shift. You need to spend more time preparing for the future and ensuring you have the right people in the right roles. This is not just a task, but a strategic move that can significantly impact your team's success. It's a powerful realization.
And that's where I made a significant mistake that I hope you can learn from.
Don't get me wrong - we hired great people. However, being outstanding in a role is about more than just skills. It's a complex mix of abilities, cultural fit, team dynamics, and a bunch of other factors that aren't always obvious at first glance.
My big mistake?
I tried too hard to coach mediocre performance into exceptional performance.
I thought I was being a responsible leader by being "accountable" for my team and doing everything in my power to coach them to greatness. But in reality, I wasn't making the necessary people changes to enable us to succeed.
I doubled down on coaching, held more meetings, and created more improvement plans—all while ignoring the glaring evidence that some of my people simply weren't cut out to be exceptional in their roles at this specific time in our company.
The path to fixing this mess was clear, but painful.
It meant having brutally honest conversations that led to some leaders stepping back into individual contributor roles where they could succeed. For others, it meant parting ways entirely.
This transition definitely wasn't fun. But the results were almost immediate and shocking. Nearly everything improved once we got the right people in the right roles. We needed fewer meetings to fix things, execution speed shot up, morale skyrocketed, and our business outcomes started improving faster than ever.
So, if you're a leader of leaders and you take one thing away from this article, let it be this: always keep sight of making sure you have the right people in the right roles. Yeah, it's scary to make people changes. They shouldn't be made lightly. But they can be absolutely critical to your success. The key is to constantly evaluate your team's performance and potential, and be willing to make the tough decisions when necessary.
Here's a hard truth: if you feel like you might need to change people, it means that change is likely overdue—or at least something you should take seriously and look into with more depth. And remember, the aftermath of these changes can be just as challenging. Be prepared to provide support and guidance to those who are transitioning into new roles or leaving the company.
I hope this article helps you avoid the leadership pitfall I fell into. Remember, your job isn't to turn everyone into a superstar. Sometimes, the kindest thing you can do for someone (and your team) is to help them find a role where they can truly excel.