What it really takes to be in senior leadership

A seat at the big table. Depending on your goals, ambitions, and aspirations, for many it can seem like the next natural step in your career.. Yet, as we all know - like most things in life - it’s just not that simple. 

What does it mean to be a member of the senior leadership team? How do you get and keep that seat? How do you prove your value? 

All are questions I’ve started to explore with mentees over the last few months - and now, I’m ready to start lifting the lid on the realities of the answers: 

Leadership as a given

Leadership always seems to be the next natural progression for most. It’s the endpoint. It’s the goal. It’s what society - and by extension, we - expects of us. 

And when we’ve put years into our work, we often expect that leadership will come. Not just because of our expertise but also because of the length of our tenure. 

But who’s to say we have the natural ability to do so? Not everyone is a born leader, and that’s fine. So, while you may have some necessary traits, you may need to grow, evolve and develop other traits in order to be ultra-effective. 

More so, not everyone has an innate desire to be a leader. And that’s fine, too! There are viable, well-paid career paths for those who want to continue to be the very best at their specialism without having to lead. As such, we shouldn’t expect to shorn those people into leadership roles because of societal expectations. 

As the stakes get higher, you may increasingly feel the need to prove yourself, which can lead to feeling like an imposter or, even worse, like you're failing.

It’s a rough cycle - one that can really knock your confidence, especially when trying to prove your value. 

The other challenge here is that there is often quite a sizeable transition into a leadership role. 

As such, we leaders often lack clarity on the skills, qualities, and strategies required to make this transition successful. Similarly, there isn’t always a clear understanding of the expectations of those in leadership positions, as well as the skills and ways of thinking. 

More than a title 

As a leader, your role is not about personal gain, job titles or salaries. It’s about serving the business, its people, and its customers. You are essentially in a servant role to the people within the business. 

And that’s hard to digest initially. A lot of professionals find it difficult to move from only worrying about themselves, their goals, ambitions, and progression to needing to make difficult decisions and put the needs of others before themselves. Leaders do, after all, eat last. 

From all manner of things; considering cost saving measures and redundancies, dealing with performance management and behavioural issues, to outlining business strategy to help work towards broader business goals - there is always something to direct. 

Not only is it a selfless role, but it’s also one that requires a lot from you mentally, emotionally, and sometimes physically. More so, you’re sitting in a unique spot where you get to flit between “doing” and “thinking” - the role really has the ability to pull you in every direction. 

The realities of leadership

The point is, not everyone is born to be a leader initially, and that's ok! In fact, it’s completely normal. So, while many are born to be fantastic, very senior specialists - not everyone has the ability or desire to lead businesses. 

But if leadership feels like a natural path for you and your progression, then don’t give up on that ambition, stay focused and committed and start to take accountability for making it happen. 

So if you think you’re up for the challenge, how many of the following can you check off your list?

1. A commitment to lifelong learning

The best leaders are all lifelong learners. Learning should never really stop for anyone, let alone us. 

All it requires is a consistent effort to absorb as much leadership content as possible—just like you’re doing now, with my thoughts here. 

More so, it’s about learning lived experiences from others. Spending time networking is critical to developing a solid network of people that you can go to for advice when you feel stuck. So don’t just join LinkedIn groups; get your coat on and get out there. It’s never as scary as you think it’ll be. 

Gaining advice from both official and unofficial mentors is a critical component of leadership that will guide and support your learning. But remember, it’s okay to fail - you shouldn’t be afraid to make mistakes - that’s how we learn. 

So, take it from me - even the best leaders do, and that's where rich learning can happen - as painful as it sometimes might be. 

1. Seeing accountability differently 

Another consideration is how you start to view accountability.

It’s realising you may have to start stepping away from being ‘friends with your peers’ to potentially having difficult and uncomfortable conversations or making tough decisions. This doesn't mean becoming the villain in the room (it’s not permission to be unpleasant or unapproachable… no one needs that), but it’s about setting clear and sustainable boundaries that enable you to have the tougher conversations if and when they are needed.

More so, it’s about understanding you’re moving on from being in a ‘self serving’ role as an employee - to being the one who has to make the tough calls, some of which may directly impact you and others. 

Everything from making cost-saving measures and redundancies to dealing with performance management and behavioural issues to outlining a business strategy to help work towards broader business goals. There’s always something that needs oversight. 

But to achieve this, you really need to be developing a deeper understanding of why decisions are made. 

Doing so will help you actually begin to see things through a different lens and gain a new perspective on how you, your team and the businesses as a whole works.

1. Being open to support

Perspective is a wonderful thing. 

As a certified leadership coach, I’ve experienced first hand supporting those who are looking to step into or thrive in existing leadership roles. 

And if that’s you, you may want to consider external coaching and mentoring to help get a better understanding of yourself. 

Coaching acts as a mirror which helps you to become more self-aware - becoming more aware of your operating systems, value sets, beliefs, strengths and areas necessary of growth.

What this process does is allow you to begin to take more accountability for who you are, how you act and what strengths you have and can bring (and what areas are not your strengths). 

What it takes to be a true leader

As Brene Brown so well said in “Dare to lead”, true leadership is when you’re: “Choosing courage over comfort; choosing what is right over what is fun, fast, or easy; and choosing to practice our values rather than simply professing them."

But I also like to think it’s simply about:

• Embracing the responsibility
• Confidence to make decisions (without emotion)
• Knowing when to ask for support

Ultimately, you need to be ready to own your role. And with that, the introspection on when to look outside of yourself for answers.

Get comfortable being uncomfortable

Growth of any kind doesn’t happen in a vacuum. You have to step outside of your comfort zone - especially if you want to keep your seat at the table. And while the bar is high, developing and encouraging yourself to match it is a feeling like no other.