One of the most dispiriting bits a feedback to receive in a new leadership role is that you are not “working at the right level.” The typical reaction is, “I’ve worked my entire professional life to get here and now I’m not ready!” Before discussing what can be done about this, it will be helpful to examine some of the factors that can contribute to this.

One common contributor is focus. Our basic leadership model L= V*T*R where V is vision, T is task and R is Relationship is a useful framework here. Most of us move into a leadership role because we were very good at doing tasks or the technical part of the work. This achievement got us noticed and valued and soon we found ourselves responsible for a part of the bigger picture and leading lots of others. In other words, we now have to be masters of V and R in order to be successful. And that’s the rub. We may not be very good at seeing the big picture, developing and using relationships, aligning competing interests, inspiring others to act, and the host of higher order skills now needed. In fact, we may not even like this type of work when compared to the technical things we were first drawn to. And we were good at doing things, but now these things need to be done by others. But instead of asking questions or for help, not something that you are likely to do when in a new job, we default to the work that we know we are good at, the things; failing to realize that those very people that need to be impressed will not be. They are expecting us to grow into being a master of vision and relationships, not do the old work from our past.

Psychologically this move makes perfect sense. Living with tasks we know how to do is fulfilling, easy, rewarding and safe. But if you stay in that place you will fail, so here are some things to do to move out of that place.

Get a Grip

Before you can move out of the hold of doing tasks you have to recognize the value of vision and relationship work. Otherwise you will not fully commit to the work of learning the new skills and will keep defaulting to the “real work” of doing the tasks. The tasks are important and those who are doing them will need your guidance, development, passion and understanding, but they will also need you to get out of the way and let them work while you do your job of framing the work of others, leading up, securing resources, handling conflicts and the like. Until you get the grip that this is your new job, you will always be two steps behind.

Ask

This may sound simple but is so rarely done that it needs a special call out here. We don’t ask for many of the reasons briefly discussed above. Basically, we do not want the person who just hired us to think we don’t know how to do the job. But here is an important corrective: that person cares more about us doing a good job, regardless of what it takes, not whether or not we already knew how to do the job. In fact, if you think about it very few of us believe a person in a new role will know how to go about doing the job. So, you need to help your boss help you and this is done by asking. Start with your boss because you want them to know what you know and what you need to learn. The first thing to develop is a clear understanding of the job and the expectations they have for you. This is not the job description. It is what they need you to do. Other things you will want to ask your boss are:

• What will I be able to do if I am on track in six months?

• Who should I know?

• What has a priority?

• Who does a good job of working at this position at other places in the organization?

• Where am I likely to slip up?

Plan to Develop

Once you have a sense of these questions you need to convert them into a development plan. I realize that you might think of this as something that your boss should be asking you to do, but if they haven’t then it is up to you. It should be based on the things that they have shared with you about what success will look like and they need to be involved from the very beginning. There are a lot of things to say about the skills of development planning for yourself and others and they are covered in another issue of this series. To work at the right level, you need understanding and new skills. Demonstrating that you understand this and are actively working on informing yourself and developing the skills will accrue enormously to your benefit.

Expand your Universe

Beyond your boss you can get valuable insights into working at the right level from two sources. First identify from your bosses’ suggestions or your own observations of who does a good job at your level and above. What seems to be in their skill set that makes them successful? How do they communicate to peers? How do they react to conflict? What seems to characterize their relationship with direct reports? Beyond your observations, there is nothing like a conversation with your colleague to help you understand this skill set and how they use it. Very few of us can resist when someone says, “I admire how you communicate the bigger picture of your area, could we have lunch and discuss this?” It is hard to find extra time to read, but short articles on specific techniques that you want to develop can also give you valuable insights.

Note what Works

As you start to work on your development plan be aware of what is working and keep a record of it somewhere. You want to turn your leadership work into a series of practices that work. Do you get more out of direct reports by giving them more freedom or carefully managing them? Does it vary from individual to individual? What do you do to discover these differences? You might also use this part of your notebook to record what others do that seems effective. This is also the place to note what you have learned and what you want to take on next.

Get Feedback

One thing you will want is to get is ongoing feedback from others about successful shifts you are making. Enlisting your boss in this will be helpful in several ways – valuable feedback, refined understanding of what they mean, and recognition that you are actively engaged in this project. Trusted colleagues, particularly those that are good at what you want to develop can also be a good source of feedback. When asking for this input be specific, appreciative, and thoughtful in your response on how to enact.

Not working at the right level is a career limiting or even derailing event. Use this introduction to think about where you are holding yourself back and make a plan to move forward.