Hi,
B-Suite leaders are the modern middle manager – too junior to be ‘in the tent’ but senior enough that you are looked up to for answers. You are responsible for results, yet spend your time caught in the cross-fire between the needs of the executive and the needs of the workforce. And you end up being stuck.
The four most common challenges of B-Suite Leaders are:
- You’ve reached a plateau where you feel stuck at level and can’t work out why.
- You aren’t being heard, increasingly frustrated you can’t get the cut-through you need.
- You’re doing it tough, working harder, longer yet still not quite keeping up with demand.
- You aren’t confident about what to do next, perhaps worry you aren’t good enough to level up.
What Level of Leadership are you operating at?
Your Current Leader Level is 3 - Innovator
You are currently operating like a Level 3 Leader – Innovator. Your primary focus is how the work gets done with freedom to innovate, but you might not yet determine what gets done.
Leaders at your level are characterised by change, and typically own multiple processes or services. You are accountable for innovation and continuous improvement, predominantly interact with senior peers, and may even be a manager of managers. You are likely a master of the way the work gets done, and are often known for innovation within your function.
The most common frustration at your level is feeling left out of conversations that impact your function. You know that you have got your direct function in good shape, and now need to focus outside-in, but the biggest barrier leaders often face in this regard is influence: you are not yet influencing key stakeholders outside your area. Your greatest challenge at this level is how to exert more influence without having direct authority.
Your Next Level...
Your next level of impact is Level 4 – Influencer. You will have greater impact beyond your scope, and it often means enabling you to achieve more complex and audacious cross functional goals.
What you need to do to Level Up
To move to Level 4 – Influencer, you need to focus on building your strategic influencing skills; to improve your effectiveness at collaborating, negotiating, and managing up.
► Control the Pace
Control the pace of work rather than letting it control you by investing in your coping mechanisms, planning and prioritising, and quality decision making abilities.
► Hold the Space
Get clear on how to think strategically, how you go about problem solving, and get confident about the boundaries of your role to add more value.
► Make the Case
Increase your impact, focus on managing up, be more conscious of your brand, and get really deliberate about motivating people and ensuring key outcomes.
Overwhelmingly supported by Deloitte, DDI and McKinsey’s work, BoldHR™’s ongoing research shows when you achieve mastery in these 3 competencies as a B-Suite Leader, you are going to become more productive, more influential and more strategic – and have more impact, more easily.
BoldHR™ knows the B-Suite.
We know that you’d rather be an impact-maker than an order-taker. And we know how to get you there.
- Feeling overlooked? Deliberate influence gets results.
- Always overworked? If you don’t have your own priorities, you’re always at the mercy of others.
- Often overwhelmed? Only boundaries prevent burnout.
How to fast-track your progress
To fast-track your progress to the next level, there are three actions you can take right now:- Join our free B-Suite Leader Community
- Read IMPACT: 10 Ways to Level Up your Leadership
- Join the Level Up Mentoring Program
Find out more
Rebecca has over 20 years’ experience in Talent and is an expert on mid-level Leadership. Formerly Head of Talent and Careers for Australia Post Group, she has been instrumental in developing the capability and careers of literally thousands of people.
Rebecca is an AHRI Talent Strategy and Golden Quill award-winner as well as the best-selling author of IMPACT: 10 ways to level up your leadership and the architect of Level Up, the only program of its kind dedicated to busy B-Suite leaders. Known for her generous, fun yet no-nonsense style, clients rave about her ability to instill confidence and change through the provision of tools and techniques that actually work.
