How Leaders Take Time to Think

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Donna Coles, One of Thousands of Leadership Coaches on Noomii.

How Leaders Take Time to Think

During a recent coaching session, my client and I talked about how he spends a typical work day. Ultimately, he described a recent epiphany experienced while staring out his office window. My client stated that oddly enough, for the first time, he was taking the time to stand at his window to think, plan, and consider the next steps for his departments. And the ah-ha moment came to him. This was a new experience. And he felt empowered. Quite fearlessly.

Why fearlessly, you ask? He recalled when he was employed at a lower level within the organization that staring out the window would trigger concerns about his productivity and how he spent his time on-the-clock.

In his previous positions within the organization, he wasn’t paid to think – as the cliché says. But, now, things had changed. But, nobody told him. Nobody said, “Hey, guy, guess what, you can take the time to THINK and you won’t get into trouble with the Boss. As a matter of fact, we’re COUNTING on you to think”.

Our coaching discussion moved to my client’s most recent promotion. He recently accepted a Senior Management (B-level) position that has the promise of preparing my client for – as he described it — “a seat at the C-level table”.

So what did he mean by C-level? This may be a refresher for some, but, to provide some background, here is how management levels are often described in literature:
• C-suite, or C-level managers, are employed at the top level of the organization. Members of the C-level group formulate policies, develop strategic plans, and provide organization-wide leadership and direction.
• B-level, or middle managers, (where my client is currently stationed) are the communication go-betweens for the lower ranks of the organization and the C-level managers. Among other duties, B-level managers support and empower the lower-level managers, inspire unity within the organization, and help motivate front-line employees to produce work that meets the organization’s productivity standards for quantity and quality.
• A-level, or front-line managers are in regular and direct contact with the employees who produce the work. They may also be “working” supervisors with individual production standards to meet. A-level managers are responsible for communicating problems and offering recommendations to B-level management for the purpose of receiving next steps.

Another topic of a recent discussion with my client was my client’s intended transition from B-level manager – part of the glue that holds the organization together; to C-level Manager – responsible for making far-reaching decisions.

My client’s role is in transition and changing to a role requiring my client to take time out of his work day to think, plan, and vision in preparation for his next promotion. My suggestion to him was that he learn how to think.

I encouraged my client to prepare for the shift to C-Level responsibility by routinely carving out time for the following:
Consideration — Reflecting Upon What is Currently Known
• Understanding what he thinks about intra-organization and organization-environment issues. Is there anything he should have more information about?
• Understanding his organization’s position on a number of relevant issues. What are the plans and intended strategies to address upcoming issues? How will this affect his departments?
• Understanding the likely impacts of the organization’s current direction, if left unattended.

Forecasting and Problem-solving
• Envisioning change initiatives that will prepare his organization to respond to a competitive and dynamic external environment
• Developing palatable and calculated methods to carry-out change initiatives to maintain his departments’ competitive edge
• Brainstorming and challenging the organization’s assumptions of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis).
• Given the goals, vision, and mission of the organization, planning the strategic direction of his departments
• Developing strategies to negotiate change in order to manage his departments’ strategic impacts both internally and within the organization’s external community

Strategic Operation and Engagement
• Assessing environmental demands and how to strategically meet those demands
• Assessing when to engage macro-management options and when to engage micro-management options to support his lower-level managers
• Assessing his leadership capacity and developing a professional development plan to enhance his leadership skills
• Encouraging and supporting his departments’ “cutting-edge” ability to deliver beyond expectations
• Coaching his lower-level management team, identifying those members of the team with an interest in career readiness for advancement to B-level positions
• Assessing and planning how to manage intra-departmental and inter-departmental relationships; and relationships between his departments and the external environment

My client and I talked about the differences in the positions that he has held thus far. What stood out for me was the psychological difference between being a do-er – producer of goods, where at this level the employee is evaluated for functional and technical know-how; versus being a think-er— evaluated for the capacity to create and manage business outcomes.

So, I encourage you to take the time to think as part of your professional development plan.
• If you attended a meeting today, have you taken the time to think about the content and the nuances of that meeting? And what this means for you, your departments, and the organization?
• You read/heard the local, national, and world news today? Did you take the time to understand how trends can affect your industry and your organization’s ability to do business?
• Organizations are dynamic, and changes in the organization are always on-the-ready. Whether we recognize the tiny ripples of change or not, they are there. Are you considering the ripple effect of those changes across your organization now and in the future?
• If your departments are considering a change, are you considering how to minimize the negative effects of that change on other levels within the organization and beyond?

These are just some of the many ideas about how to take time out of your busy schedule for contemplation and preparation for your career next steps.

What do you think? Drop me a line. Give me your feedback. Thanks in advance.

Donna Coles
(Donna Coles in an Executive and Career Coach with an office in Winston Salem, North Carolina. She also works with clients by telephone and video conferencing.)