From managers to leaders: Developing the next generation in your organisation

Middle managers seeking to make the leap into leadership are a core focus for companies eager to retain their top talent. Here, Della Owen explains how Achieve Breakthrough’s ‘Emerging Leaders’ programmes help companies nurture these highly motivated individuals.

Ambitious middle managers are likely to find themselves at a crossroads. They’ve got perhaps 15-20 years of technical expertise and some people management experience under their belts, and they’re thinking: what next?

But a leadership role is not just another rung on the career ladder – it requires a huge mindset shift. Achieve Breakthrough’s ‘Emerging Leaders’ programme can help your talented middle managers make the leap from functional managers to transformational leaders.

Managers vs. leaders

The difference between a manager and a leader is more than just a few more years’ experience. A manager has functional expertise and probably some people management responsibilities. They have worked up in their area, and have a great understanding within it.

But, while a manager deals with the day-to-day process, results and people, a leader’s role is to manage and define the frame of reference for the entire organisation. They have the ability to think strategically and make decisions from an enterprise mindset. They have a set of muscles that enable them to think in defining, transformational terms.

Leaders also have the ability, the mandate and the responsibility to challenge convention and the status quo. They see the bigger picture and have the skills to challenge and remove what is in no longer in service of the organisation, its stakeholders, customers and people.

Ultimately, a good leader needs to be the creator and architect of new possibilities for the organisation. While managers are employees of their organisation, leaders are its stewards.

Motivated for leadership and a mindset of possibility

Our ‘Emerging Leaders’ programmes are not Management 101: we start from the assumption that participants know the basics. Instead, the aim is to give emerging talent the support needed to step over the line from manager to leader. That doesn’t just suddenly click (it would be lovely if it did!). Nor do people go on our programmes and immediately become a leader in the business! It’s about opening up their route into leadership.

At the heart of our programmes is developing people’s ability to generate new possibilities. They become leaders with vision, who can architect and implement the ambition they hold, bringing others along on the journey and making what was deemed impossible, possible.

We spend a lot of time on the self, requiring aspiring leaders to ask themselves: who are we, what limits us, what drives us, how do we communicate, where do we listen from, how does our approach impact others?

This self-awareness helps participants understand where learnt assumptions may need to be challenged, and where established approaches may need to be flexed in service of others and the outcomes they are looking to produce. Alongside this, we develop the mindset that, as leaders, they are each 100% responsible for who they are being and the actions they take – that they are empowered and accountable.

Then we get into the detail. What is the mindset of a coach? What is our mindset when it comes to our relationships with others? And how do we hold possibility for others? How do we enrol and tell stories? How do we influence? How do we lead through setbacks, without reducing what we are committed to?

Applying our programmes and overcoming challenges to success

In all Achieve Breakthrough’s work, context is decisive. We develop leaders for your specific organisation, not just leadership skills that could apply to any business. We take into account your framework, strategy, context, and organisational goals – then apply our methodology around that.

A year-long programme, for example, includes a face-to-face launch week; intersessional virtual modules; 121 coaching; and group coaching. Tangible, business application is key to these programmes.

Inevitably, with any comprehensive and difficult development journey, challenges will arise for participant – in fact, we hope they do! We give people tools and strategies to implement and think about, but it’s natural that other demands on time meant that these aren’t always put into practice at every opportunity. The grip of conventional thinking (in other word reverting to established ways of doing things when things get tough) is strong. This is very human and normal. After all, we’re asking leaders to unlearn a lot of what has served them well (their beliefs, assumptions, ways of seeing the world and assumptions). This doesn’t happen in a day, a week, or even a year.

There are several ways we ensure commitment, both during and after the programme. Leadership sponsorship and line management sponsorship is key. There are various interventions: in-person, virtual, and coaching. Participants are partnered with groups, and the Google Chat between participants is always buzzing. We’re there to give them continuous coaching and challenging: checking in with them, pulling them back and challenging that connection to the way they’ve done things before.

So, in contrast to many leadership programmes, the drop-out rate is negligible: That translates to an excellent ROI.

To discuss how Achieve Breakthrough’s ‘Emerging Leaders’ programme could help your organisation with succession planning and nurturing the future leadership of your organisation, contact us today.