Navigating Transitions in the Business World (Opinion)

I once read people are either going into a crisis, coming out of a crisis or are in the middle of a crisis.

If that is true, then throughout our entire lives, we will continually be in some state of transition, constantly moving from an old reality, through a current reality and finally into the new reality. And if we are paying attention, then we are learning something about ourselves as we move through these stages.

Similar transitions also occur within the leadership realm, and I tend to refer to them as Self, Others and Thought. They are the passages, if you will, leaders move through as they mature personally, as they gain business acumen, and as they develop higher-level thinking.

A cautionary note: Skipping levels, or moving too fast between the levels, will not serve a leader well. For the most effective leadership, it is important to understand the skill sets required at each level, and to have an appreciation for those skills.

The key skills learned or developed at each level:

Self (foundational skills):  Emotional intelligence, declaring core personal values, being a person of influence, navigating leadership beliefs, establishing key relationships, building teamwork, developing a personal viewpoint.

Others (relational skills): Articulating a personal leadership philosophy, driving people engagement, leadership reproduction, growing a wider circle of relationships, understanding collaboration, gaining a larger perspective.

Thought (transformational skills): Creating a personal legacy, leveraging inspiration, leadership teaching, utilizing peripheral relationships, strategic alignment, wisdom through experience.

Now here’s a snapshot of what each level might sound like:

Self leadership. This is where you begin to understand who you are, what you believe in and how you view the world. You develop philosophies about self leadership, and you make mental notes about how you’d lead others, given the chance. You develop a strong moral compass and become respected by others. You master a number of foundational skills. You are promoted because you are an exceptional “doer.”

Others leadership. This is where it’s no longer all about you. Now it’s about getting things done through other people. You formalize and articulate your personal leadership philosophy. You are responsible for people engagement on a larger platform, as well as growing the next generation of leaders. Relationships take on a broader definition, and collaboration replaces teamwork. These new experiences have given you great perspective. You value the journey.

Thought leadership. At the highest level, you begin to think about the legacy that you will leave. In a compelling and inspirational voice, you begin to share “teachable moments.” Your world is vast and complex, and many decisions come with societal implications. You leverage strategic alignments. You have aged gracefully and wisdom has served you well. This has been transformational work.

While the language I selected would indicate a slant toward the business sector, these same types of transitions occur in other realms of leadership — think sports, entertainment, science, academia. You simply reframe using a different storyline and different vocabulary.

Successful Self-Others-Thought transitions largely depend upon how you spend your time and what you think about. Each stage or transition provides you with an opportunity to think through some key questions, and it’s often helpful to examine them in a Keep/Stop/Start format.

Keep: What works well for me regardless of the level? What do I keep doing?

Stop: What is no longer required of me — or it is still required of me, just done differently — as I leave the previous level and move to the next level? What do I tweak? What do I stop doing?

Start: What does this new level require of me that perhaps I’ve not had to consider before? What do I start doing?

Basically the Keep/Stop/Start exercise is to help you frame your new reality. There will be exceptional personal attributes that you will want to leverage at every single stage of your leadership journey. Do more of those things that absolutely work for you. On the flipside, do less of those things that don’t set you up for success — often referred to as derailers. Work to eliminate those things that don’t showcase your true potential. And finally, think strategically about what to add to your portfolio. What will put you in the place of most potential?

Transitions are simply part of the leadership journey. Think of them as a camera: Focus on what’s important, capture what works, develop from the negatives, and if things don’t turn out, just take another shot.

Enjoy the journey.

Stacey Mason is the owner of Mason On Leadership, and uses insight, perspective and humor to move people toward greater self-awareness and thought leadership. More information is available at masononleadership.com.