How to elevate from Manager to Director+
How do you make the leap from Manager to Director?
How do you coach your people who want to develop beyond management?
The Manager to Director+ transition is one of the more difficult transitions I witness.
And it’s a classic case of “what got you here, won’t get you there.”
Today I’m going to hit on:
Differences between Manager & Director levels
What can get in the way
Actions for success
Alright, let’s hop to it! (It’s a meaty one…I hope you enjoy!)
Manager vs Director
Let me start with an analogy.
Imagine a snow plow.
It has the difficult, and necessary, task of clearing the road so the cars that follow can more effectively drive ahead.
Directors and above are the snow plow. The path isn’t always clear, decisions need to be made, and even when visibility is terrible, they’re out there forging a path.
Managers are typically the cars. The road is now visible, it might still be challenging, and it’s on them to drive and ensure their passengers are getting from point A to point B.
In short, Directors are directing the path, Managers are doing the work to get the business there.
At the management level, we’re managing performance, we can get in the weeds, and it’s our ability to execute and deliver that typically garners praise.
And that’s precisely the trap that can make the leap from Manager to Director so difficult.
As a Director, you’re about the broader business.
You’re seeing business challenges, diagnosing them, and identifying solutions that benefit the whole business.
As a Director+, you’re not waiting for vision and strategy from your leader, you’re expected to be part of creating that vision and deciding on direction.
A simplified table to further illustrate the differences:
Barriers To Making The Leap
There are a few critical shifts in thought patterns and actions that, when not done, become barriers to progressing beyond the management level.
Staying in the Weeds
There’s a level of comfort when you stay really close and in the business. Having deep subject matter expertise feels good and it’s hard to relinquish control and knowing the ins and outs of everything.
Staying in the weeds can create tunnel vision. It also prevents you from being able to zoom out and more comprehensively see the business. A skill critical for Directors.
Waiting vs Proposing
If a frequent thought pattern is “I’m waiting on leadership to share a vision,” or “I’m needing my leader to provide direction,” there’s a shift to be made.
Rather than waiting, practice proposing.
Directors propose solutions and direction, even when clarity is lacking.
Here and Now
Fire fighting. This month, this quarter. Being knee deep in the here and now, so much so that thinking 2 quarters ahead feels impossible.
It’s the difference of being the car behind the snow plow and seeing just the car in front of you vs being in the driver’s seat of the snow plow and seeing a mile or two up ahead.
Your Brand for Execution
Impactful Managers are often seen and branded as great Doers for the business.
Success at a Director level is expanding your brand from Doer to Strategist.
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Pausing here, what’s resonating with these 4 barriers?
If you’re wanting to progress from Manager to Director, which of these is your greatest opportunity to work on?
If you’re developing Managers who are seeking Director level, which of these would they benefit from mastering?
Now let’s jump to actions to be taken.
Actions for Success
The great news is there are simple, not to be confused with easy, actions one can take to increase their success moving from Manager to Director.
Leverage these yourself or pass them along to a Manager you’re working with.
Shift Your Managing Up
Expand the scope of discussion in your 1:1s with your leader.
Notice when you’re reporting on the details for how things are getting done vs high level progress against desired outcomes.
When things are unclear, manage up with a proposed direction.
When problems arise, manage up with a diagnosis and a solution that illustrates you’ve considered multiple variables and trade-offs.
When the sh*t hits the fan, manage up with what you've already done, how you're planning to get on track, and how you're getting ahead of any more sh*t flying.
Choose Different Words
Your word choices shape your reputation.
To be seen as someone who can go beyond Doer status, consciously make shifts to how you’re communicating.
Two examples to illustrate:
Example 1: A change in process has been announced.
Manager: How are we going to roll this out to our teams?
Director: What does this change position us to do better moving forward?
Example 2: An additional goal/priority has been requested of you and your team.
Manager: Yes, we can definitely add that goal to this quarter’s priorities. (Even though you’re already bandwidth constricted.)
Director: Tell me more about how this goal fits into the broader pieces of the puzzle.
Additionally, leverage Ask Bigger Questions from a few weeks ago. Here are a few helpful ones:
In 6 months time, what's something we'll wish we'd had considered in our planning?
Pausing for a moment to zoom out…what are we really trying to solve here?
What are the tradeoffs we're not considering?
What will this mean for us a year from now?
What's the short term vs long term play?
Expand Relationships
High impact Directors have effective and meaningful connections and relationships across the business.
Get to know others. Intentionally understand their work, their challenges, their goals, and the ways in which you can be a great partner to them.
Build trust and understanding.
Business gets done through other people. And when Directors of different departments have competing priorities or negotiations for resources are underway, you want to be the person they trust, understand, and know.
Practice Gaining Buy-in Differently
What I most commonly see when folks are trying to secure buy-in for an idea or a change, they do this:
Ask to meet
Share a their idea
Sit back and field a million questions
This common approach is lacking and is not as effective as it could be.
Instead, do this:
Connect your audience with the Problem
Share proposed solution
Share tradeoffs considered
Ask for their input (1-2 ideas they see to strengthen the solution)
Incorporate their input
Ask for their partnership
When you can understand and diagnose a business challenge, propose a meaningful solution, speak to the tradeoffs you’re aware of, and then ask for additive input (vs just asking for their feedback), you will demonstrate the skills and behaviors desired at the Director level.
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That’s it for today!
I hope this is well timed for those with performance reviews around the corner.
Comment below and let me know what stood out most to you!
