Tipped for promotion to the senior team but not sure you really want it?
Here are 5 questions you need to consider
Photo by Rosie Steggles on Unsplash
1. What was your gut reaction?
Whatever you might make of joining the senior team, it is a compliment to be thought of in that way. Whether your very first emotion was wide-eyed excitement, astonishment, terror or nausea make a note of it.
Take a moment to contemplate what provoked your initial reaction. Did it fade away quickly only to be replaced by something else? What happened the more you thought about it? Did you keep thinking about it? A sense of ‘I did not want to have this conversation’ may only be a sign you were hoping your hand would not be forced at that moment rather than you not wanting it at all.
It can help to form a brief chronology of your feelings so you can dig down further as to what is behind it all. The blind panic, for example, that you experienced at the time can turn into genuine delight the following morning (and vice versa). Allow some time to notice what is driving you. If you cannot stop thinking about it after a weekend away from work or are sufficiently motivated to keep a record that may be all you need to pursue it further, even if the gremlins keep trying to put you off.
It is not a competition between your positive and negative thoughts. Opting to let one of those sides win on the basis of frequency alone is not the way to go. Human beings are very well equipped to identify risk and not act any further. We can all be our own worst enemies. Even if positive thoughts only occupy your mind 10% of the time that can still be enough to take it forward. Either way keep that piece of paper with the chronology, it may be a useful reference point down the line.
Your first thought may be that you do want a senior job but just not in that organisation. If so, what is behind this? If you have been thinking about leaving, what have you done about it? Have you researched the kind of organisation where you would want to be a senior leader? Is your CV up to date and ready to go? If you want to be in a position of greater influence in an organisation, but not the one you are in, then why are you still working for them at all? Take an hour or two to research the job market and see what is on offer. The jobs you see may look less appealing than the opportunity in front of you. If looking at any role you might be able to obtain puts you off, then research roles hundreds of miles away. The fact you are not in a practical position to apply can help you engage with the exercise, if only theoretically.
2. Who is doing the tipping?
A statement such as ‘your name has been mentioned as the most likely to move up the next time a spot comes up’ can carry different connotations. What is the motivation of the person telling you this?
Ideally, this person has your interests at heart first and foremost. They may be genuinely delighted that someone else has seen your qualities, and that this could be a chance for someone with real talent to be present where it matters. They may not want you to miss out on a wonderful opportunity, only to find out afterwards there was disappointment (or worse) from above that you did not apply. They may also want you to know they put you forward themselves, but felt embarrassed at telling you directly in case it would not be welcome.
I am not saying that you should doubt the sincerity of the messenger, always present as positive. Senior leaders need to be equipped with emotional intelligence and political nous so it is worth considering the following. Does the person telling you:
have an interest in getting ‘one of their people’ round the table so they can score points against someone else?
wish to increase the pressure on someone not quite ready to retire or leave the company for any other reason?
want to promote you as a not-so-subtle way of promoting their own profile as ‘someone who brings people through’?
intend to use this as a favour you can never quite pay back whilst they seek your vote in contentious issues, or even to help dig them out of a performance issue?
It is also worth considering if this is a one-off or part of a trend. Having a number of people from across the organisation instigate this kind of conversation at different times is a good sign that this is authentic, as is the same person telling you more than once even if months apart.
3. If not now, then when?
Success does not come in a straight line and you cannot control when the best opportunities might come your way. A lot of people can wait a very long time for the ‘perfect moment’ to apply which never comes. Life can get in the way at the best of times and anyone who decides they need both the relationship with their significant other and where they live (as just two examples) to be in the sweetest of spots before they go for it may find that time never comes.
The truth is that success can come much earlier than you thought without a clear reason. If you feel this is luck, you could be right but you have probably earned it in more ways than you might ever remember. Accept it either way. So what if all your stars do not align as you thought they might?
It may be the first time you have seriously considered a senior position, no matter how long you have been at the level below. It is not just politicians who find themselves saying they have never sought a position but if it came to them they would consider it. Often the very best senior leaders do not think of themselves as ‘leadership material’ or aim for the position but take it for the benefit of the organisation they care about. Many of the best had to be convinced to apply in the first place. The same applies to CEOs.
If ultimately you decide not to go for it, you should have a plan for how you will develop professionally in the next twelve months. If you have some key gaps in knowledge or skills, how will you counter them? I would guard against feeling that every gap must be closed in order to be in the ideal position. Look around at who is currently in place round the top table and their strengths and weaknesses. Also consider the extent to which they have developed professionally in the last twelve months. None of them will be perfect and some will take their development more seriously than others. Your attributes may be exactly what is missing, and you may add far more value than you ever considered from the start.
4. Have you thought through the transition?
Whether you like it or not, life will change if you join the senior team. The level of scrutiny on how you interact with others, how you carry yourself around the workplace and what you wear will increase. I am not saying you need to respond to any of that but you will need to be ready for it. Your conversations in staff social areas, the lift, the car park or at the Christmas party will all be different. The eyes of the stadium will be looking at you. The initial intensity will fade but never go away. This is an adjustment for everyone and you will adapt to it quicker than you think, not least because you will have experienced some of it already as your career progressed over time. If you beat other internal candidates to the role and they cannot be pleased for you or hide their own resentment that is their problem. Others will see it for what it is.
In addition to this senior posts will carry a higher level of responsibility and accountability. Suddenly you are that bit more responsible for the overall success of the organisation and areas of work you have never previously touched or thought about whether they fall under your responsibility or not. This is a good time to pull your thoughts together about where the organisation is headed. In addition, make a list of topics and questions about the advertised post. Many of them you can answer yourself with a little research or reflection time. Others may be strong contenders for you to ask at an interview. Whether you apply or not this will aid you in your current role and future applications.
You may have a concern about winning hearts and minds. This will not come overnight. If you work hard, weather the initial scrutiny and are seen to learn from your mistakes hearts and minds will follow, including from the most unlikely places. No one expects any senior leader to get it right all the time, particularly those new in post. Colleagues who appreciated you before, but never told you, now see more of you. Maintaining those small interactions with everyone, and doing so with authenticity, will build a lot of support and forgiveness when things do not go right.
5. How confident are you that you will be successful?
This is one to consider from two angles.
The first is your chances of getting the job in the first place. It is true that there are risks here. However discreet you might be, and others should be, it is likely that word will get around you ‘put yourself out there’ and at least thought you were a contender. Even an innocent one to one with the CEO you were already due to have can get people talking. More people than you might imagine (and would prefer) will raise it as a topic of conversation whatever happens. Some will be respectful and want to learn from your experience, others may just want to be on top of the gossip.
If you apply for any job you accept that you might not be successful. You cannot control how many other applications will arrive or who from, particularly if it is open to external candidates. I would guard against going for any job ‘for the experience’ as it can often result in unexpected success. If, after weighing everything up carefully and preparing thoroughly, you evaluate that you have a decent chance, you have nothing to lose. There is always something to be said for the person who most wants the job. Even if you are not successful, you will have learned from the experience. As frustrating as it might be to be told you were ‘close’ you can still benefit from a confidence boost and a raised profile for the future, whether in the same organisation or elsewhere.
The second is how successful you will be if appointed. That is another substantial topic in itself but your starting point should be an expectation of success from the start. Being new and making a highly positive impact are not mutually exclusive, you can have both. Some of this may come easier than you think. You may not realise how fresh your perspective may present to the senior team, or the influence a newcomer round the table might have on seemingly entrenched behaviour or attitudes of the other team members. They are on show too and will be more conscious of the impression they make on you. This may fade too, but it can also buy you time as you understand your new responsibilities.
You will need to consider that your relationships with your current team and direct reports will change. The nature of collective responsibility as a senior leader means that your first priority is the top team and not your current one. You will be expected to back the team you have joined, not sit on the outside or hedge your bets. It may be hard to leave behind aspects of your current role, particularly if it includes leaving a team you have built and nurtured over time or the camaraderie of other middle leaders. You do not have to leave it behind completely, and it will definitely go down badly if people feel abandoned, but you do need to subjugate it to the senior team. It does not need to be an extremely distant second, but the line should be definitive. Others will understand that their relationship with you will be different from now on, but any attempt on their part for you to leave behind your collective responsibility as soon as you have left the meeting should be swiftly ignored. It is up to you to draw that line.
Ultimately there is much to recommend internal promotions. You may worry that a CV full of them when you finally do look elsewhere can present as overly narrow, but it also says much that an organisation worked hard to retain your services. There can be a weak correlation between length of tenure and ability to adapt to a new workplace and culture.
Finally if you are tipped for the top, make sure you enjoy the process of considering your next step whatever you decide. If you find yourself sitting on the fence that should be enough evidence to go for it anyway.
