Case Studies - Technician to Manager
Transitioning from "Doing" to "Leading"This executive was newly promoted to director Project Management, and had six direct reports, each a manager in Project Management and each with six project managers reporting to them. The director had been selected for this position because of her stellar ability to manage projects effectively. Many of her direct reports had been peers until her promotion.
The most important single issue for this executive was to stop being the individual who solved every problem and to become the executive who facilitated the solving of problems. At the start of the coaching engagement, her decision-making style involved gathering information, identifying alternative approaches, evaluating two or more possibilities and then implementing the approach that she felt was most desirable. This style led to her being a bottleneck in getting problems resolved. She was overloaded and her direct reports were frustrated because of her busy schedule. All this was compounded by the fact that there were several unfilled positions on her team. She was partially filling in to cover the responsibilities that were intended to be handled by people hired to the vacant positions.
For this executive it was very important to establish a sense of urgency around filling vacant positions. All of the tasks associated with this effort were examined and the coach encouraged the executive to find other resources to participate in the process. For example, instead of this executive personally screening all of the resumes that were being provided by Human Resources, batches of five or so were given to each direct report to evaluate. For each candidate that seemed attractive based on the resume, a short list of important questions was developed and a Human Resources representative was asked to conduct a telephone screening of the lead candidates. The responsibility for initial screening interviews was again distributed among her direct reports. With these new approaches and a few others, the vacant positions were filled in short order. With a full complement of resources and a broader use of delegation, this executive was no longer overloaded and functioned as a more effective manager.
The area of personal and professional development for both the executive and her direct reports also became a topic of interest. Since personal growth and advancement are significant motivators, the executive was encouraged to schedule one-on-one time with each direct report to develop an understanding of their aspirations and to help each subordinate take steps to achieving his or her aspirations. Furthermore, the executive was introduced to the legitimacy of being proactive regarding her own development and growth. By recognizing the motivational aspect of development, this executive was able to understand the importance of growth and advancement for her subordinates.
