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Transitioning from Management to Executive

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Assignment 3
Transitioning From Management to Executive

“How Managers Become Leaders” is an article presented in the Harvard Business Review by Michael D. Watkins that explores the transition from a manager to an executive. The article highlights the journey of professional, referred to as Harald, from an assistant product manager of a European chemical company to the leader of an entire plastic resins unit. Through interviews with more than 40 executives, Watkins (2012) has developed the seven seismic shifts of perspective and responsibility; specialist to generalist, analysts to integrator, tactician to strategist, bricklayer to architect, problem solver to agenda setter, warrior to diplomat, and supporting cast member to lead role. Initially, Harald began to over manage the sales and marketing VP, an area he was more than familiar with. This is an example of shifting from specialist to generalist. Rather than focusing on a comfort zone, “Enterprise leaders must be able to (1) make decisions that are good for the business as a whole and (2) evaluate the talent on their team.” (Watkins, 2012, p 67) In Watkins (2012) second shift, analyst to integrator, Harald was introduced to conflicting needs and demands of business. Operations, sales and marketing, research and development, and finance departments will often have different needs or visions. In the third shift, tactician to strategist, Harald realizes he must now think more strategically and spend less time on small details. Watkins (2012) identifies three skills necessary to transition from tactical to strategic thinking; level shifting, pattern recognition, and mental stimulation. These skills refer to the ability to recognize when to be detailed or broad-scoped, recognize important patterns in the business environment, and anticipating how external forces will react to business decisions. The fourth shift, bricklayer to architect, shows Harald nearly failing to consider the ways business decisions are related and the vast repercussions of ignoring this. At the executive level, leaders “…must understand how the key element of the organization fit together and not naively believe, as Harald once did, that they can alter one element without thinking through the implication for all the others.” (Watkins, 2012, p 69) Fifth is problem solver to agenda setter. According to Watkins, (2012) enterprise leaders must shift from solving problems to delegating which problems to tackle. The sixth shift, warrior to diplomat, displays the transition from Harald motivating his subordinates to preform superbly to serving as a diplomat for the company he represented. Issues such as dealing with government officials and important investors manifested and Harald looked to his staff for guidance. Finally, supporting cast member to lead role refers to the heightened degree of responsibility executives have as role models. Harald found himself amazed at the degree of influence his actions and behaviors had upon his employees. In my opinion, the seven seismic shifts of perspective and responsibility seem relevant to a person fortunate enough to make a journey such as Harald’s. However, I do not feel like the message was broken into useful information. For example, I believe that specialist to generalist and analyst to integrator could be combined to one step. Both shifts involve transitioning from focusing on a part of your company to making sound decisions that will be for the best of the company as a whole. Overall, I think that the concepts presented by Watkins (2012) are valuable to any aspiring professional. While a manager of a sales branch must focus on the best for their team, it would be wise to continue to learn as much about the company and its intricacies. In conclusion, Watkins (2012) painted a good picture of the challenges presented in transitioning from a manager to an executive. Focusing on the big picture may be difficult, but through strategic thinking and utilizing the knowledge of leaders in less familiar territory, success can be achieved. In regards to Harald, he says, “The skills that got you where you are may not be the requisite skills to get you to where you need to go. This doesn’t discount the accomplishments of your past, but they will not be everything you need for the next leg of the journey.” (Watkins, 2012, p 72)

References

Watkins, D. (2012). How Managers Become Leaders. [Electronic Version] Harvard Business Review, 90(6), 64-72.

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