Submitted by nm04265 on
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BLUF: For others that have made the leap to the executive level (VP & above); my question is how are you able to keep the MT principles, yet manage at the level my C-Suite expecting?
I've successfully used MT podcasts (and show-notes) for the last 8+ years. It's certainly made me a better manager and contributed to a recent big promotion to VP, rare at my firm. Now I am an ‘officer’ of the company. So obvioulsy to Mike & Mark, thank you (if you read this!).
Background
I have 9 Directs, each has 2-3 levels of managers below them. The entire org is ~70 onsite and 300+ remote in the US. The Country Head and the C-suite leader wants me to focus on our strategic direction, not the daily operational grind (“that’s what the team is for”).
While I fully expect to continue to apply the MT principles; there are a few items that are nagging at me.
1. Balancing the operational aspects (where I find MT most useful) and finding time to think and lead the strategic thinking, analysis and planning.
2. My ability to “observe” directs for the feedback model is going to be quite limited…. Not sure how I am going to provide feedback like I used to?? It seems the higher the level one obtains; the more it’s really about the results… and not how they get them (retaining).
3. Weekly 1:1’s are on the books, but with the myriad of issues for a $15B business, the team is struggling to keep to the 30 minutes. I expect this to resolve over time; but I need them to pull up on the level of detail.
I think there is an Executive Tools product here for Mike & Mark to launch!
Thank you for any suggestions or books to help me frame my approach.
Would love to see replies !
Great work! Congrats on the promotion, I would like to see executive tools as well.
Input on Point 3 - 1:1 Level of Detail
Nice work on your promotion and I also think this would be an excellent podcast. Regarding point 3 and the 30 minute time frame, I agree that this will resolve over time as long as you continue to stick to the 30 minutes. About 9 months ago I took on a new role in which I have 12 direct reports scattered across the US. Calendar management can be a real challenge and sticking to the 30 minutes was a real struggle at the beginning. At times, I'd have to give a 2 minute warning that I had to move to another call - probably not an ideal way to build a relationship and very painful for me (and my direct, I'm sure) at times. That being said, over the last 5 months or so, the team has become more accustomed to the cadence of our time together and the level of detail discussed has adjusted accordingly. Best of luck to you in your new role!