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Closing The Hidden Gaps between Senior Manager and Board Director · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The jump from senior manager to board director is probably the biggest you'll face in your career.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: You are going from one job and stepping into two jobs, running a function or business unit and helping run the business.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: To get this promotion at all and then to get it as quickly as practical, closing as many of the hidden gaps between senior manager and board director is pretty essential.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: There are probably three to ten senior managers for every board director in your company.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: You can do the maths.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: A number of senior managers will not make the jump.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: Don't let that be you.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: I made the jump from senior manager to board director of a large business at the age of 38.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: I have coached many other senior managers to promotion.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: I am sharing six of the hidden gaps that prevent senior managers getting promoted into their first board director position.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: I personally learnt the hard way when my promotion was blocked.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: I was making a couple of these mistakes and didn't realise what was needed.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Once I stopped making these mistakes, promotion followed.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: Nearly all the senior managers I have coached to promotion were strong performers.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: Performance is rarely the issue.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: The blockers to promotion nearly always come from positioning, communication or relationship-based issues.
• 1:21
  SPEAKER_00: The first hidden gap, delivering results versus creating direction.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: Delivering results is very important in all roles.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Results are what creates success for the business and thus for you personally.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: This remains true in senior management and as a board director.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you observe carefully, you'll notice a very definite gap in priorities between senior manager and board directors.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Here are some examples.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: A good senior manager prioritizes and focuses on what are we trying to achieve?
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Or how do I plan and execute so my team beats expectations?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Or how can I improve what my team does to get better results?
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: A good board director prioritizes questions like, are we trying to achieve the right thing?
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Or how do I ensure my team and the business is focusing in the right direction?
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: Or what do I need to do to influence peers and manager priorities?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_00: The director is much more concerned with the bigger picture, the business level activities and strategic direction.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: When senior managers don't consistently demonstrate strategic thinking, they remain stuck in senior management roles.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_00: To close this hidden gap between senior manager and board director, ask more questions, think bigger picture, think through consequences at company level, mentally put the business first, and don't be afraid to challenge the status quo.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and if you're new to this podcast, Enhance.training provides resources, courses, and coaching for you to build management expertise and confidence to lead any team to their best performance.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you're interested in removing the blockers to promotion and focusing on the activities and approaches that will speed up your promotion to board by months to years, I invite you to join a free webinar sharing critical actions to take.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: It's free and your 30-minute investment will save you months to years of time and effort.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: I will put a link in the podcast description to this webinar, or you can go to enhance.training, select coaching from the menu, wait for the redirect to our coaching section of the website, and then select resources from the menu and find the board promotions webinar from the list.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: So the hidden gap number two, owning a team versus owning the business.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: Ownership is a great quality to have and is usually very appreciated by bosses as it reduces the pressure on them.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: This hidden gap between senior manager and board director happens through what is being owned.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: Many managers think that getting bigger teams and more responsibility will directly lead to promotion.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_00: This is usually the case in the junior management ranks, and it becomes less certain as you progress into senior management ranks.
• 4:20
  SPEAKER_00: The reason is priorities change, and the most important or most impactful way a manager adds value to the business changes.
• 4:28
  SPEAKER_00: Good senior managers show ownership for their team, function, or business unit.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Managers protect and manage their teams and their sphere of responsibility.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_00: Board directors operate on a business-wide level.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: This means putting the company first even when it means their team will be worse off as a result.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_00: They do what is best for the business first.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_00: To close the hidden gap between senior manager and board director, elevate the level at which you operate.
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_00: Tie your decisions to what is best for the company and put these ahead of personal or team considerations.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_00: Own the outcomes or results for the business.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_00: When communicating, link what is happening to why this is best for the business.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: The hidden gap number three, the reliance on authority versus influence.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: Influence is much more powerful than authority in many situations.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_00: People do a much better job when they want to do something rather when they feel they have to do something.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_00: Senior managers are more internally facing than board directors, on the whole, and can get far on using authority alone.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: Towards senior levels, using authority alone starts creating limitations.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: Influence becomes more important, more practical and creates better outcomes with internal and external situations.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: To get promoted quickly into board roles, learn to build and rely on influence in the middle and senior manager roles a lot more than relying on authority.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: Using influence makes you a lot more effective in management roles and is essential at board level.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: To close the hidden gap between senior manager and board director, work on building influence through relationships by intelligently helping others and by being known, liked and trusted by colleagues and bosses.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: So hidden gap number four, solving problems versus managing trade-offs.
• 6:28
  SPEAKER_00: Managers are good at solving problems.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: When you get into senior manager positions, you are very good at solving problems.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: Finding and implementing solutions creates a lot of satisfaction and appreciation from those around you.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: Directors face more complex choices.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: They need to choose between bad options or choose between imperfect options.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Here are some examples: growth versus profitability, or cost reduction versus employee engagement, or customer quality versus revenue growth, or short-term performance versus long-term investment and continued performance.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: To close the gap between senior manager and board director, look out for the complex trade-offs within your business and decide what you would do.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: More importantly, be clear on why you would make that choice and how you would communicate it or will build support for it.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: You can apply the same approach to smaller trade-offs that you are likely to face in your day job.
• 7:32
  SPEAKER_00: Focus on the why and the communication of your choice to build these valuable trade-off skills.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_00: On to hidden gap number five, visibility of work versus visibility of thinking.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_00: The first step is to regularly communicate your achievements and your results to bosses and peers.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: If you're not doing this at least weekly, start now.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: Communicate clearly, concisely and with quantification or using numbers.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: Proactively make sure leaders are aware of your achievements.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: The hidden role gap here is in what you communicate and how you position it.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_00: Senior managers often focus on communicating work progress and deliverables achieved.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Good directors go a step further and make their thinking clear and visible to peers, teams and colleagues.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: They communicate their work and decisions in the context of company strategy, market dynamics, business implications, competitor actions, and future risks and opportunities.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: To close the hidden gap between senior manager and board director, spend time looking outside of the business to understand the environments your business is operating in and what your competitors are doing.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Understand the company's strategy within this context.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_00: Then link your actions, decisions and focus to these factors so everyone understands why you do what you do or make the decisions you do.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Hidden gap number six, business knowledge versus commercial acumen.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: Commercial acumen is knowing how to increase revenue and or profits in your specific business.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: An even better step is demonstrating you can implement initiatives and projects that deliver clear and good financial results for the business.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_00: Businesses have to be profitable to survive in the long term.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: Profitability is getting more back from customers than you spend delivering products and services.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: It is very advantageous for senior managers to have reasonable commercial skills.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_00: It is essential for directors to be good at making profitable decisions.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: When senior managers don't display good and consistent commercial decision making, they rarely get promoted to board level.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: To close the gap between senior manager and board director, learn how to read more than the basic financial information.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Make the time to analyse the financial impact of decisions that you need to make and regularly think through the financial impact of the situations you face.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like any skill, the more you practice and the longer you practice, the better you get at it.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: Work at improving the profitability of your decisions.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: So, in summary, these are six examples of the hidden gaps between senior managers and board directors.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: To get promotion, to make this last big jump, closing these hidden gaps will help you massively.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: This is not an exhaustive list.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: When you're being blocked from promotion or feel your promotion remains out of reach despite performing strongly, focus on your positioning, communication and relationships within the business rather than working harder or trying to deliver even better results.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: If you're interested in removing the blockers to promotion and focusing on the activities and approaches that will speed up your promotion to board by months to years, I invite you to join a free webinar sharing critical actions to take.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: It's free and your 30-minute investment will save you months to years of time and effort.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: I will put a link in the podcast description to this webinar, or you can go to enhance.training, select coaching from the menu, wait for the redirect to our coaching section of the website, and then select resources from the menu and find the board promotions webinar from the list.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_00: If you have any questions on closing the hidden gap between senior manager and board director, please email me at support at enhance.training and I'll get back to you.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks very much for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.