In supervisory, managerial, and executive roles, it’s leadership ability not technical subject matter knowledge which produces top tier organizational performance. Leaders will be surrounded by subject matter experts to answer their specific questions, so they need not be one too. We should be able to move leaders around to direct different departments. This should also work across organizations and even sectors. Successful leaders will excel in different organizational settings. Their role is to articulate the vision, mission, goals, culture, values, and objectives and select the right team and provide them with everything they need to produce optimal results.
When someone isn’t savable in a new role leading a different department or organization, it should have been obvious prior to the promotion or lateral move. Past performance is highly predictive of future performance. There are no real surprises when it comes to leadership successes and failures.
As a leader, always know who you are and what you do best. Pick the leadership level and specific position you will play best. For example, plenty of excellent #2 and #3 leaders (COO) make great #1 leaders (CEO). However, sometimes a leader is truly optimal at the #2 or #3 role or other C-level leadership position (CFO), but they will not be the right CEO. In this case, let them play the position on the team which is perfect for them and the organization.
The best leaders know it’s all about the mission and the team and never about them. They are happy to serve where they can contribute the most (Abrashoff, 2002; Collins, 2001; Kotter, 1996; Maxwell,1998; Starling, 2008; Welch, 2005).
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