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Going From Manager To Director – Actions To Get Your First Director Role · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Going from manager to director level is a big step and a difficult step.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, there are few board director positions relative to senior manager positions.
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: To secure one of the few director positions available, you need to stand out and operate in a different way from your peers in senior management positions.
• 0:19
  SPEAKER_00: Understanding what mindset shifts are needed to make the changes to stand out is critical.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: My first board director role was moving into a large company that was about to fail.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: It only had a week or so left of operating costs in cash.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: It was a high-risk move and exactly the challenge I was looking for.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Having the confidence to make difficult decisions and create change came from all the steps I took and experience I gained before I moved from manager to board director.
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: We saved the company and I was responsible for helping generate over£24 million in cash in the first 24 months as a board director.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm sharing some of the key changes when going from manager to board director and how to prepare for those changes, which will make getting your first director role a lot easier.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_00: We are covering firstly moving from manager to director requires mindset shifts for success.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, getting your first director role is a double promotion.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: And third, seven actions for how to go from manager to director.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of people ask what steps do you take to stand out and get promoted into a director role?
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: There is a lot of actions you should proactively take, and I'm sharing what has worked for me and many of my coaching clients.
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_00: So firstly, moving from manager to director requires mindset shifts for success.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: At each level, as you go through the management ranks, you have to continually adapt to how best to operate at your new level, and going from manager to board director is no different.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: A director position requires a different working approach and needs slightly different skills.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: You step even further away from personally producing output and rely even more on creating value through the teams that work for you.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Your ability to build relationships and influence and persuade people in your team and across the business to help you deliver company goals are vital.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: Your mindset needs to shift from a functional short-term focus to a business-wide and longer-term focus.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: How you think has to move from doing what I've been told and making what we do more efficient to thinking about what and how things can be changed to create competitive advantage at a company level.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Understanding the different focuses of each management level is important to make the mindset shifts required at each stage.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: They work within tight boundaries set by more senior managers, and their focus is generally on this week and next.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_00: Middle managers produce less personally and do more organizing and coordinating of functional activities and projects, and of course, their junior managers.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: They work within looser boundaries set by senior managers and are mainly focused on effectively running the company processes.
• 3:18
  SPEAKER_00: Middle managers are looking ahead more, maybe into the next month or two.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: Senior managers coordinate and plan projects and goals within their own function and increasingly coordinate with other functions.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: They are tasked with implementing the board's plans and strategies.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: Senior managers focus increasingly on improving and updating processes and how things are done rather than the actual task level themselves.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Their timelines are in months and quarters, and again they have looser boundaries set by the board.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Board directors set the companies and their own functions direction.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: They decide on how to respond to external changes in the market, to competitor actions, and to what customers want.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_00: They run the business as well as their function.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: They only have boundaries set by their fellow directors and potentially the business owners.
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: Directors are focused on direction, what needs to change for business success and organising and coordinating their senior managers.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: Directors' timelines are in quarters and years.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Moving from manager to board director requires you to solve problems that impact the company, not just your functional team.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Cross-functional working and influencing and getting commitment from those that you don't report to you becomes increasingly important at senior levels.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_00: Achieving results from teams across the business means developing different skills to be effective.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_00: Change your mindset from thinking about your team and function to thinking about what is best for the business.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: Next, getting your first director role is effectively a double promotion.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_00: As a senior manager, you are typically the number two of a function.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: You have a more experienced person above you to make the decisions about functional strategy and tactics, what areas to focus on to change and improve, and the final say on who to hire, etc.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: You have a person to use as a sounding board and get sign-off or permission for the difficult decisions with big impacts.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: This gives you quite a bit of protection and confidence.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: Move from manager to director, typically into your first director role, and all those decisions are now on your shoulders.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: You don't have someone to turn to.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: You are now the head of your function, and you need to set the direction and strategy to best align and support company success.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_00: The full responsibility and ownership of all the functional decisions now sits only with you.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: This is a big jump in responsibility.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: To add even more pressure, you are also joining the team that is running the company.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_00: You have a promotion into a second role running in parallel to being a functional head.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_00: Helping run the company means thinking about a much wider range of problems and having to put yourself in many more shoes.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: You can't just think with your marketing, sales, or finance functional hat on.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_00: You have to think from a lot more angles and consider all departments and functions to make the best decisions for the business.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: This is another big step change to take from a mindset perspective.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: In addition, there is even more pressure because your performance is even more in the spotlight.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: More people are watching what you do and what you deliver for them and the company.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: Your job security drops as you get into more senior roles and takes another drop at board director level.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: The level of your impact and influence is such that you need to perform.
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: If you don't or can't perform, you will be replaced quickly.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: The company simply cannot afford to keep an influential person that is not improving and helping the business be successful.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: The combination of increased scrutiny, increased responsibility, and increased impact is daunting for many.
• 7:04
  SPEAKER_00: It takes 6-12 months for most in their first director role to get confident and be comfortable with the increased pressure and scrutiny.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_00: Next, we're going to cover 7 actions to position yourself for promotion from manager to director level.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you're new here, Enhanced.training shares people management expertise, resources, and courses teaching you how to be a great manager and build high performing teams.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: I've included links in the description below to resources that will help you move from senior management roles into director level positions, so do take a look at these.
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: So let's talk about how to position yourself to go from manager to director, which is a difficult barrier to cross.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Here are seven actions for how to go from manager to director.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Your influence and impact as a director is substantially bigger than as a senior manager.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: You are responsible for the happiness and productivity of a large number of staff.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_00: The decisions you make and help make could make a very successful business or cause it to fail with the loss of jobs and wealth destruction that goes with business failure.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: There is a lot riding on the board directors choosing a suitable person to join the director team.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: Seven actions that I know you need to take to position yourself as a good choice for promotion into your first director role.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, demonstrate that you are good at decision making.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Think through the impact on the commercial success of the business, the risks, the people impact, the market and customer impacts, and everything else which is relevant.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not viewed as at least a safe, dependable, intelligent decision maker, you won't get to board director level.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, you need to show that you are successful working across functions.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: Show that you can persuade and influence team members and managers in other functions and teams.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Demonstrate that you can deliver good results with different employees who don't report to you.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: Leading cross-functional projects are a great way of doing this.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Third, show that you can build professional and constructive working relationships across the board, i.e., you can work with all different personality types and be successful and make them successful.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, demonstrate that you're good at developing managers within the business.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_00: Show that you can mentor and coach them to lead their teams better, to deliver projects quicker, with less cost and problems, to make better decisions and take more ownership and responsibility.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Coaching the management of tomorrow helps you move your career forward and is great for the business.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, show that you think strategically with the questions you ask and the suggestions you make.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Prove to directors that you have a solid grasp of the business strategy by making sure you are at the forefront of implementing company strategy successfully in your areas of responsibility and helping peers in their areas.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, be very visible and helpful to the current board directors.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure they know how you are making their lives easier and the business more successful with careful professional marketing of your achievements and relationship building.
• 10:26
  SPEAKER_00: Seventh, build good professional relationships with all the board directors and your peers.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: The better your relationships, the more effective and influential you'll be.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: Get to know the board directors on a personal level too.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: They need to know and like you as a person and get good insight into your character before they will want you to join them.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: How well you position yourself, your skills and experience, and the results that you can deliver will make the difference between being considered for your first board director role or being stuck in senior management positions for your career.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_00: I've coached many senior managers to direct their promotions.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: A coaching program with myself should help you be more confident and take the right actions to put yourself into contention for your first board director role.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: To bring your promotion closer, and if you think working together might be a good fit, I invite you to click on the link in the podcast description to book an exploratory call.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_00: There is no obligation, it would be a discovery call, not a sales pitch.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_00: Learn more by clicking in the link in the podcast description.
• 11:32
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, positioning yourself for a director role needs intelligent actions to demonstrate that you are ready for the different way of operating needed to be successful and you are ready for the additional responsibilities and pressures.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: You absolutely want to be successful in your new director role, especially as job security drops the higher you rise.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_00: The seven actions I suggest you take are firstly demonstrate a strong decision-making approach and skills.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, show your ability to deliver results in cross-functional work.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Third, build good relationships with all employees.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: Fourth, show you are good at developing managers within the business.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: Fifth, demonstrate your strategic level thinking and planning.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_00: Sixth, make yourself visible and helpful to current directors.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_00: And then seventh, build good relationships with board directors on a professional and personal level.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions, please email me at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: Don't forget I've included links in the podcast description to resources and a coaching option for you, so do take a look at these.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.