Poor leadership cripples employee engagement, innovation, and organizational performance.
Back in 2011, a study conducted by Gallup showed that a mere 13% of employees across the globe are truly enthused and motivated by their organizational leaders.
This dismal statistic proves that ineffective leadership makes employees disinterested in investing effort in the organization.
A crisis of ineffective leadership, prevailing worldwide, plagues companies.
Incorporating new executive leadership blood is important to cultivate highly committed and productive workforces. A focus on inspiration and driving meaningful change is essential.
Executives who have risen through organizational layers possess a combination of strategic vision, operational expertise, financial acumen, and deep organizational understanding.
Their unique experiences train them to be dynamic and impactful leaders.
Embodying cross-functional roles makes them capable of unifying teams and making sound decisions.
When combined with intentional leadership, development, and the right mindsets, business executives have unparalleled potential.
This frontline-anchored leadership perspective is a sorely underutilized asset. Companies can leverage this skill set to solve the crisis of employee disillusionment with leadership.
Strategic Mindset from High-Level Role
Operating at the highest levels of an organization imbues executives with a crucial leadership asset: a finely-tuned strategic mindset. Their years of experience assessing competitive landscapes cultivate big-picture perspectives.
Executives excel at zooming out to analyze complex issues through a wide-angle lens beyond just immediate returns.
Financial/Operational Knowledge
In addition to strategic thinking, executives harness deep financial and operational mastery from managing profit and loss responsibilities and oversight across business units.
This numbers-driven acumen allows them to expertly analyze performance data, diagnose issues, optimize processes for increased efficiencies, implement disciplined governance, and hold teams accountable to clear metrics.
Risk Management Capabilities
Another distinct benefit executives bring to leadership is advanced risk intelligence from actively identifying and mitigating potential pitfalls throughout their corporate tenure.
Executives have spent years diving deep into different facets of the business and can foresee interdependencies, vulnerabilities, or missed opportunities in ways leaders from other pathways cannot.
Examples of Execs Turned Great Leaders
Numerous recent examples showcase the positive impact executives who leverage their unique skillsets can have when elevated to leadership roles.
Masterful strategist and former chief product officer Arvind Krishna has helped expertly reposition IBM as an AI and cloud computing powerhouse since becoming CEO in 2020.
Laxman Narasimhan is similarly drawing upon his 30+ years of operational experience across multiple corporations to turn around and revamp Starbucks’ product innovation and streamlined service model as the company’s new CEO.
Firsthand View of the Company’s Processes
Part of what distinguishes executives as leadership material is their intimate, firsthand view of how an organization truly operates.
Rather than an outside perspective, executives have been embedded in a company’s processes, workflows, and dynamics for years across various roles and levels.
This immersive tenure provides a profound grasp of interconnected functions, underlying operating models, and unique organizational complexities.
Deeper Grasp of Company Culture
Beyond processes, executives also cultivate an innate knowledge of a company’s cultural fabric.
They have witnessed firsthand the behaviors encouraged versus shunned, what norms enable agility or stifle innovation, and how to navigate politicized undercurrents.
This profound cultural literacy is difficult for outsiders to rapidly attain.
Ability to Relate to Employee Experiences
In addition to understanding processes and cultures, executives also innately grasp the day-to-day realities employees at all levels face based on doing those jobs themselves at some point in their careers.
Whether it was the grind of an entry-level role, the pain points of a particular function, or the implications of a corporate policy, the executive has been in those very trenches.
Employee Quotes on Leadership Relatability
“Our leaders were in the thick of it with us for so many years. They’ve experienced our same struggles and pressures firsthand, which makes their actions so much more grounded in reality.”
– Engineer at Lockheed Martin
“The best part about having an executive running the show is that she speaks our language – she gets our lingo, in-jokes and daily frustrations in a way that instantly builds trust.”
– Sales manager at Shopify
“Our CEO started off in the same Entry-level role I have now. Knowing he faced the same grind as me but still rose to the top is incredibly inspiring and motivating.”
– Anti-money laundering analyst at JPMorgan Chase
Potential Pitfalls When Colleagues Become Subordinates
While an executive’s deep organizational experience is a prime leadership asset, the transition from operating among peers to leading former colleagues can create complex workplace dynamics.
When managers take on subordinates who were once co-workers, potential pitfalls can disrupt team cohesion and trust if not handled with care.
Preventing Negative Office Politics
To sidestep these issues, executives elevated to leadership must take conscious steps to re-set relationship boundaries and operations from day one.
Communicating changes to work dynamics, decision-making protocols, and expected shifts in conduct is crucial for realigning expectations.
So is leading with vulnerability, humility, and consistent role-modeling of desired behaviors.
Building Trust Through Inclusive Management
Beyond those foundational tenets, adopting an inclusive management approach goes a long way in uniting teams during complex peer-to-leader transitions.
Seeking ways to make all voices heard, gathering input into key decisions, and collaborating with former co-workers as partners fosters believing in a unified purpose.
Real-World Example
When long-time KPMG executive Safra Catz became CEO after over two decades at the firm, she had to take over the leadership of numerous former co-workers and friends.
Catz spent her first year being extremely intentional about engaging teams through listening tours and workshops to co-create the firm’s new vision and move the company beyond its recent ethical scandals.
Importance of Continuous Development
While executives bring a wealth of cross-functional experience that can translate powerfully to leadership roles, the skills required to be a truly transformative leader are never fully mastered.
The most successful leaders recognize that leadership is an ever-evolving journey requiring relentless commitment to learning, growth, and self-development.
Seeking Mentorship
A valuable avenue for facilitating continuous leadership growth is pursuing mentorship from respected leaders who can share wisdom from decades of experience.
The perspective and feedback from an experienced mentor enable up-and-coming leaders to accelerate their self-awareness around strengths, gaps, and areas for improvement.
Making Time for Learning Opportunities
In addition to mentorship, truly prioritizing ongoing learning means intentionally carving out time amid hectic schedules.
This may involve dedicating nights or weekends to leadership training programs, workshops, books, or educational resources.
Or making annual professional development commitments like attending conferences to stay ahead of emerging trends.
A commitment to never feeling “done” as a leader unlocks exponential potential for impact at both the individual level and overall organizational success.
Leaders who wholeheartedly embrace lifelong learning gain an immense competitive advantage.
To conclude
Leadership is a highly specialized expertise that must be intentionally nurtured, even among those who have risen to the highest ranks.
Combining their robust cross-functional foundations with voracious learning agendas empowers executives to fully leverage their backgrounds.
Those able to couple experience with humility, emotional intelligence, and unwavering growth mindsets will be unstoppable catalysts for positive transformation.
Organizations wise enough to identify and cultivate their executive talent pipelines while fostering cultures of constant leadership evolution will be immensely rewarded.
Bridging competency gaps and solving the crisis of ineffective leadership is imminently possible when executives’ unique skills are embraced and maximized.
