One common theme that I’ve seen at every level in my career was the newly promoted technical expert who struggled to gain traction in their first formal leadership role, or in transitioning to higher levels of leadership.
As a high-performing individual contributor/technical SME, their technical skillset became integral to their identity—usually over a period of years, well before any opportunity for their first leadership role materialized.
Technical mastery largely defined their self-perception, how they wanted to be perceived by others, and how they viewed success.
There is no doubt that this technical toolkit made them highly successful in the past; however, without taking substantial time to develop the new leadership toolkit, many of these leaders quickly reach an upper limit in what they and their teams can achieve in the present and future.
People leadership requires a separate set of tools, involves new success metrics, and requires a very different approach to mastery.
I have been in your shoes. I’ve personally faced the struggle of setting down my old tools and picking up new ones.
If this is something that resonates with your current experience, reach out to me for a no-charge discovery call; I would be happy to partner with you in your personal journey to overcome this.
Daniel Khoroshansky
Windward Coaching Services