Much longed for promotion turns into transition-nightmare for more than half

The challenge of a major promotion is second only to dealing with divorce and many companies do not do enough to help. This is one of the key findings of a study by global HR consultancy, DDI, ëLeadership Transitions: Stepping Up, Not Off.î

- When asked to rate career transitions relative to different life events, leaders on average place them second only to dealing with divorce, with 59% rating them as either very or extremely challenging. The challenge intensifies with the seniority of the transition.

Leadership transitions occur when leadersí responsibilities, skills and priorities change, as a result of promotion from one level to the next. These transitions represent major changes in orientation of what people believe is important, how they allocate their time and what aspects of the job they draw satisfaction from. They require some degree of personal transformation if the leader is to fully achieve at his or her new level.

- Over three quarters (80%) of leaders say that understanding that the new role requires a different way of thinking would have helped them to be more successful, with 92% of senior leaders most strongly in agreement. However, one in three leaders say their company provides little or very poor support in this regard. The more senior leaders become, the more strongly they voice the desire for support with this.

Steve Newhall, managing director of DDI comments:
ìItís a familiar story. You work really hard to get that promotion and youíre excited about your new role. Then suddenly reality hits home: you are on your own, unsure of what is really expected of you, missing aspects of your previous role that you had finally mastered, without your trusted network of colleagues and politics rife amongst your new peer group whom you struggle to engage with. Yet, despite the familiarity of this story the scale of personal change required is rarely acknowledged, let alone adequately supported, leading to ëtransition anxietyí.î

The study indicates that part of the problem is that while organisations typically focus on developing leaders ëhardí skills, it is the ësofterí skills that leaders find most challenging and need most support with as they progress. These softer skills are more about using emotional intelligence and thinking differently, in order to build new networks and work together, rather than technical skills.

As one respondent comments: ìDealing with peers and even bosses envy is extremely difficult, we have to re-build our notion that people are there to help. Sometimes they are there to make you fail.î

- Office politics plays a big part in the transition anxiety cocktail. It ranks top at first and mid-level leadership, with almost half of first level leaders and one-third at level two saying that they have been unable to address this challenge effectively. While senior level leaders rate politics as the fourth most difficult challenge it remains most often cited as the toughest to overcome effectively.

- Those surveyed also face major challenges in establishing a new network appropriate to their level, with senior leaders rating this as their primary challenge and one third of first and mid-level leaders reporting that they have not been able to overcome this effectively.

- All leaders rate the ability to adjust to getting work done through other as being in their top 3 most difficult, and one fifth of first levels and senior leaders claim that they still struggle to master this. It seems that the top performers (whom we typically promote) are most likely to struggle with relinquishing ëdoingí and trusting others to do equally well.

Another respondent adds: ìIt is more difficult to change how you work if you were successful in the previous career than not. Ironically, the promotion comes only if you are successfulî.

Steve Newhall comments:
ìPeople are very vulnerable at the point at which they make the move up the career ladder from one level to another. The fear experienced during a transition phase creates increased receptivity for learning but it is also a huge risk; because the individual is suddenly in completely new territory both in terms of what they are expected to accomplish and who they accomplish it with and through. If organisations do not address this phase and provide adequate support during it people can get locked into the transition mode forever with one foot on the last rung and one on the next and nobody doing what they are supposed to be doing on the right rung of the ladder.î

The study also reveals interesting disparities in how women and men perceive their progress through leadership transitions and how people of different ages approach them.

- Women place ëbetter self awarenessí first when asked how the organisation could have helped them make the transition effectively ñ for men this doesnít figure in the top three. Conversely, women place confidence a close second on their list of most wished for personal qualities and skills, whereas for men this doesnít figure in the top five.

- Double the number of 45-54 year olds than under 35ís, acknowledge that substantial support is needed for the mental shift associated with each transition.