Author: Julie Scardamaglia
Published: 15 November 2024
It’s the way of all career progression in professional services firms – those who are good at the technical work are promoted and it’s not long before they’re in a leadership position themselves. Chances are they deserve it, but being good at the technical work doesn’t mean they’re ready for leadership, or good at it.
So, it often happens that the person who was doing so well at their work finds themselves out of their depth with unfamiliar responsibilities. First, their confidence takes a hit. Next, their performance starts to decline, and imposter syndrome sets in. Then they start questioning whether they’re in the right job, firm, and industry. This explains why firms see the highest level of attrition at this level. The loss of this group is significant, as it comes after many years of investment – as graduates and the years after. It doesn’t make sense to lose them because they feel out of their depth, unsupported, or suffering a decline that is not of their making.
The reverse can also happen, that the emerging leader thinks they’re doing a great job when they’re not and that decline of confidence, performance and self-belief is visited upon their teams.
It's long been known that the majority of people who leave their job do so due to their direct manager. Of course, they usually say it’s because they are pursuing career development, but this is rarely the true cause.
When the developing leader isn’t doing so well, the standard response of their manager(s) is to say the new leader just needs some time in the role and will work it out, or to put them on a training course. That course will invariably deliver a lot of information in a short time – too much to be digested at that time and usually not available when they really need it.
Training is great, but training alone isn’t the answer. Most learning doesn’t happen in a classroom. It happens through hands-on experience, trying (and failing) in a safe environment. To be effective, training needs to be systematically planned to deliver ongoing development. The trainee needs to be in a position to practise what they’ve learned consistently and repeatedly. They also need feedback so they can refine their skills. This is especially true of the soft skills emerging leaders need to develop, like managing people, communications, and conflict resolution. These skills develop as they are used, so the emerging leader needs support and advice as each new challenge presents itself. Otherwise, by the time their manager(s) recognise there’s a problem, the opportunity has passed, and the damage is done.
For this reason, in addition to formal training programs, mentoring and coaching are very effective support mechanisms as they can supply support in the moment and, most importantly, in a safe and confidential environment. They don’t need to be expensive one-on-one solutions, but they do need to start as soon as the person is promoted (even before in a perfect world) so the emerging leader can have constant support as challenges arise.
In a perfect world, firms would provide emerging leaders with training and mentoring or coaching as they approach this time in their development. In this way they would be learning and doing in an environment of safety and support.
An important part of this is that mentoring and coaching provide a feedback loop alternative to the direct manager relationship. Regular direct manager meetings can often be overtaken by pressing work matters so performance feedback or development issues are often relegated to infrequent formal performance reviews. This means opportunities for development are missed, with the result that performance review outcomes can be a surprise to the individual. A mentor or coaching relationship can help the direct manager focus on work matters knowing the mentee is well supported in other ways.
This distance from the direct reporting relationship is important. Mentors outside the mentee’s team or organisation aren’t constrained by the day-to-day issues of management and client delivery. The mentor can focus objectively on the mentee’s needs, and the mentee can feel free to be open about their situation, fears, and desires.
Then the result is invariably increased confidence and performance for the mentee and an enhanced feeling of self-worth for both.
Author: Julie Scardamaglia
Published: 15 November 2024
It’s the way of all career progression in professional services firms – those who are good at the technical work are promoted and it’s not long before they’re in a leadership position themselves. Chances are they deserve it, but being good at the technical work doesn’t mean they’re ready for leadership, or good at it.
So, it often happens that the person who was doing so well at their work finds themselves out of their depth with unfamiliar responsibilities. First, their confidence takes a hit. Next, their performance starts to decline, and imposter syndrome sets in. Then they start questioning whether they’re in the right job, firm, and industry. This explains why firms see the highest level of attrition at this level. The loss of this group is significant, as it comes after many years of investment – as graduates and the years after. It doesn’t make sense to lose them because they feel out of their depth, unsupported, or suffering a decline that is not of their making.
The reverse can also happen, that the emerging leader thinks they’re doing a great job when they’re not and that decline of confidence, performance and self-belief is visited upon their teams.
It's long been known that the majority of people who leave their job do so due to their direct manager. Of course, they usually say it’s because they are pursuing career development, but this is rarely the true cause.
When the developing leader isn’t doing so well, the standard response of their manager(s) is to say the new leader just needs some time in the role and will work it out, or to put them on a training course. That course will invariably deliver a lot of information in a short time – too much to be digested at that time and usually not available when they really need it.
Training is great, but training alone isn’t the answer. Most learning doesn’t happen in a classroom. It happens through hands-on experience, trying (and failing) in a safe environment. To be effective, training needs to be systematically planned to deliver ongoing development. The trainee needs to be in a position to practise what they’ve learned consistently and repeatedly. They also need feedback so they can refine their skills. This is especially true of the soft skills emerging leaders need to develop, like managing people, communications, and conflict resolution. These skills develop as they are used, so the emerging leader needs support and advice as each new challenge presents itself. Otherwise, by the time their manager(s) recognise there’s a problem, the opportunity has passed, and the damage is done.
For this reason, in addition to formal training programs, mentoring and coaching are very effective support mechanisms as they can supply support in the moment and, most importantly, in a safe and confidential environment. They don’t need to be expensive one-on-one solutions, but they do need to start as soon as the person is promoted (even before in a perfect world) so the emerging leader can have constant support as challenges arise.
In a perfect world, firms would provide emerging leaders with training and mentoring or coaching as they approach this time in their development. In this way they would be learning and doing in an environment of safety and support.
An important part of this is that mentoring and coaching provide a feedback loop alternative to the direct manager relationship. Regular direct manager meetings can often be overtaken by pressing work matters so performance feedback or development issues are often relegated to infrequent formal performance reviews. This means opportunities for development are missed, with the result that performance review outcomes can be a surprise to the individual. A mentor or coaching relationship can help the direct manager focus on work matters knowing the mentee is well supported in other ways.
This distance from the direct reporting relationship is important. Mentors outside the mentee’s team or organisation aren’t constrained by the day-to-day issues of management and client delivery. The mentor can focus objectively on the mentee’s needs, and the mentee can feel free to be open about their situation, fears, and desires.
Then the result is invariably increased confidence and performance for the mentee and an enhanced feeling of self-worth for both.
