3 Must-Avoid Traps for Sustained Career Success

As we ascend the corporate ladder, the dynamics of workplace relationships and responsibilities undergo a seismic shift. In this episode, we'll dissect the critical mindset adjustments that can make or break your success at higher echelons. Learn why it's imperative to leave your old role in the dust and how to avoid the trap of mimicking your predecessor's leadership approach.

We'll dive into the necessity of maintaining composure under intense pressure, a trait often attributed to first responders but equally vital in the boardroom. Uncover how activities like yoga and regular workouts don't just alleviate stress but could also leverage genetic advantages for coping. Embracing an athletic mindset can empower you to handle professional stressors with the grace of an athlete, irrespective of your physical prowess. Get ready to be part of this conversation that propels executive growth and well-being to new heights.

In this episode, we discuss the following:
1. The challenges individuals face when transitioning into a new role after a promotion. 
2. Key steps to avoid pitfalls after a promotion.
3. Personal strategies for handling stress.

This episode is sponsored by LucidPoint
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CONNECT WITH SUSIE:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/susietomenchok/

CONNECT WITH JAMES:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/capps/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:15

Welcome to the Quick Take podcast, the show where you get targeted advice and coaching for executives by executives. I'm Suzy Tominczuk.

Speaker 2: 0:24

And I'm James Capps. Give us 15 minutes and we'll give you three secrets to address the complex topic of issues that are challenging executives like you today.

Speaker 1: 0:36

Hey, welcome to Quick Take Quicksters. How are you today? I'm here, I'm Suzy, I'm here with James. How are you, james?

Speaker 2: 0:43

I am just the best I've ever been.

Speaker 1: 0:46

People must wonder why we're always laughing when we start our podcast, but just because we have joy in our heart all the time.

Speaker 2: 0:54

We do, we do, we do, and it's a miracle that this podcast comes off at all. So there's a little preamble that the miracle occurs, and then this thing starts.

Speaker 1: 1:07

That's right. It's no easy way to transition. So I'm just going to go to tell you about client I just met with yesterday. It's funny how all my content comes from people.

Speaker 1: 1:17

This guy that I'm coaching I'm actually going to start coaching just got promoted within his organization. He's been with the organization for a long time and he's worthy of the promotion and it was really challenged with. He started out by saying you know, one of my direct reports is actually a really good friend of mine. The other direct report has been, you know, just kind of old school, doesn't like to do all of the admin stuff and so he's using kind of like your managerial style is really micromanagy when he's asking him to do some things that are very important for the business basic stuff. But he's never had to do it before. And it just struck me that you know we get promoted and we just think we're going to show up the next day and just be able to be that in that seat, in that promotion, and I feel like people need to have a shift in order to do that or they may not be successful. Just because you have the promotion doesn't mean you're going to be successful.

Speaker 2: 2:16

It is hard and you know we had another episode which is a companion to this, which was really the three things that you need to do to be successful in your promotion. But I think this story highlights a really great point, which you know there's. There's lots of things you just can't do and I love this idea or this story because it is super challenging to get promoted, but it's even harder to get promoted internally and totally and especially, I mean you really plucked one of my you know my strings on the worst case scenario, which is you're promoted and now one of your director reports is somebody who's your best friend. You know that is the hardest possible thing that can happen and just to deal with that requires a tremendous amount of skill and attention to detail.

Speaker 1: 3:06

Yeah, and it's frustrating. It's almost like you know too much. Yeah, you know kind of like you know what they're going to, the reaction, or you kind of already have these kind of trigger things that happen, so they learn it too.

Speaker 2: 3:20

Yeah, and maybe that's another great episode, which is just how to deal with being promoted over your friends, because that's there's a litany of things that we could talk about there. But yeah, I mean, I think today maybe it's great. Let's just give some recommendations on the things that you should avoid following a promotion.

Speaker 1: 3:40

Yeah, things you should not do.

Speaker 2: 3:42

What's number one?

Speaker 1: 3:43

What should you not do?

Speaker 2: 3:45

The first one really is you know you should not keep doing your old job, right, yeah? And I think it's so important when you get promoted that you draw that line, because I think if you want other people to see you in a different way, you have to stop doing that job. And many times your promotion includes you doing your old job with additional responsibilities. But there, if you think about it objectively and you really give it some analysis, you realize that there is a difference between doing your job and having something in your remit. And so just because you still oversee something doesn't mean you still have to manage it and deal with it in the same way. So you want to take a step back and say, okay, I now have a bigger remit or I have a different point of view. How do I do this thing differently? Doing that on top of everything else is a guaranteed way to fail. So number one piece of advice stop doing your old job, start doing your new job.

Speaker 1: 4:42

Yeah, because you morph back into who you were before. Right, it's going to happen. You're not going to go where you need it to go.

Speaker 2: 4:49

So and I think that's a real, real challenge that you know. This is that opportunity to reinvent yourself and you need to be thoughtful here and if you don't go through some very methodical and think approaches to ensure that you don't no-transcript, it'll happen very quickly.

Speaker 1: 5:08

Yeah, it's hard to say the negative part because I want to give advice on how not to fall into that and so I won't. But it's hard not to.

Speaker 2: 5:19

But I think it's very easy for you to see that you are right, and so that's why I like that as my first recommendation is because it's very simple. There's lots of things you can do to avoid it, but you'll know when you're doing your old job. You're doing the same thing, you're going to do the same meetings, you're having the same responsibilities. Nothing's changed. Right then, and there you need to know I haven't changed anything, so I need to stop doing my old job.

Speaker 1: 5:40

Yeah, yeah, yeah, love it All right, what's number two?

Speaker 2: 5:43

You know. The second one seems equally interesting, and it somewhat applies to that type of promotion. But if you are repeating, you're backfilling a role, you're fulfilling a role of a previous leader, or you're going to a company and you are a replacement. You want to make sure you're not doing their job. Yeah, and what do I mean by that? I mean the reality of the universe is that people in roles that are good at their job, they fill that role with their skill set. They become the puzzle piece in which the company fills around them, and so you are oftentimes going to struggle. If you try to be the new Carol or the new Dave, you need to be you in that company, and so people who are least successful when they are promoted or taking a new job are trying to be the person that was there before them, and so you need to. Second thing to avoid is avoid being your predecessor. Establish the boundaries, establish what you do and don't do, and be that person.

Speaker 2: 6:45

Be you in that role, because if you try to, be that predecessor, you'll have a very likely likelihood of failure, and a lot of people who replace long-term employees are failures because the company isn't prepared for them to not be that person. And so you've got to set that up front, set that stage up front and saying, look, I am not Carol, I'm James and I'm going to do this role as we've defined it. I'm not going to do it my way. You have to do it with a white touch and you can't walk around and say Carol was an idiot, but even if she was, but you do have to be sure not to be the predecessor. I guess one more thing that I'll offer up to there is that sometimes, when that predecessor does have a large presence, it is difficult, and you have to go in there and learn a lot about that predecessor to ensure that you are doing it in the right way.

Speaker 1: 7:39

Yeah, and I think what. I think the reason people do that is because it fills. Somebody else did it. So it gives you confidence if you follow in their footsteps, that you're doing it the right way. And I think what people don't realize is when you're in this new role, it's okay to not feel comfortable. You shouldn't feel comfortable, you have to figure it out, and so that might be it.

Speaker 1: 8:01

That's a way to go. Well, if they did it this way, then I'm going to keep doing it this way. But don't be you. It'll be inauthentic. People won't recognize you as that leader if you don't step into it and just be you Right.

Speaker 2: 8:17

You have to know that you bring stuff to the table. Those things are your experiences and your ways of doing things. You're going to be better doing it that way, Certainly stand on the shoulders of giants. We all need to do that, but also be you.

Speaker 1: 8:29

Yeah, I love that one so much. This is so important to really be thoughtful about this instead of just the next day just showing up. What are you?

Speaker 2: 8:39

going to do different.

Speaker 1: 8:39

So what's the third one?

Speaker 2: 8:42

The third one, I think, is just super powerful that you need to set boundaries up front right away, and it does certainly build on top of the other two, perhaps in the sense that oftentimes you're going to go into that role and you're going to work extra hard or you're going to work extra hours, you're going to take on extra responsibility.

Speaker 2: 9:02

Those first decisions can last forever, can haunt you forever, and so if you don't A, like we said, stop doing your old job, B, not B your predecessor, or C not set boundaries with your leadership team, you can create a situation where you're actually going to be perceived as not doing a better job later because you were so aggressive and so over the top upfront. This is where I really like to talk about having a 30, 60, 90-day plan, and within that 30 days you should be setting boundaries. So what you want to do, what you want to avoid doing, is not having good balance in your time. You want to make sure that you are setting good parameters, and so what you want to avoid is really stepping in and getting in over your head too quickly.

Speaker 1: 9:50

Yeah, you know the reason why. Psychologically, I think, we're afraid to set boundaries because we don't want people to not like us or to question our leadership but if you don't, people will allow you to set your boundaries. So far, they're not going to tell you you shouldn't be doing this. Your people will let you take on more responsibility, so you have to set those boundaries, and so when you don't, you are not setting yourself, your future up for success and you're not going to grow into the role.

Speaker 2: 10:23

Totally agree, and my favorite examples here is I started as the CTO of a firm here in Colorado and my predecessor had been with the firm a long time, and so his departure left a hole. And during my briefing with the leadership team, that went really well. And then, when I met with the staff towards the end of the meeting, they handed me a piece of paper I think it was literally a ripped out piece of notebook paper, dog-eared and coffee-stained that had all of the root passwords for all of the servers. And I said what is this? And they're like well, sometimes there might be an emergency and you need to log in. And I said look, no, this is not the role I play. I am not the number one technology guy, I am the leader.

Speaker 2: 11:10

And while it was interesting in A because I was not being my predecessor, and B, I was setting the boundaries and I immediately showed what I was bringing to the table versus what my predecessor was. And so by drawing that boundary, it really shifted the dynamic of me and my staff. Immediately, day one, they understood that there was a difference. I was not them, but better, I was different, and that created a really big difference. And so I think you have those opportunities to know that you've got to set your boundaries and you've got to send them smart, wisely.

Speaker 1: 11:44

Overall, I keep thinking about how this this is all about your promotion is more than just a conversation with your boss, about the conversation in the title. Your promotion is about setting those expectations for the people that are around you. And when you don't do that, you just show up the next day as your same self. You will not be successful.

Speaker 2: 12:07

Yeah, there's so many, so many opportunities to succeed here. But you know, these three things are just Just just giant potholes that you can stumble on and set yourself back Really quickly yeah, for sure.

Speaker 1: 12:21

So what are the three? And I have to say was hard for you to take the negative part of the third one.

Speaker 2: 12:28

I saw you just shift that back. You're like you heard yourself.

Speaker 2: 12:33

So what I think when you look at it from the negative, in some cases it's it's more self evident because you'll do things, all these positive things, and you'll sum them up and go I was doing this and like yeah, so yeah, the first one, you know, don't do your old job right, you gotta draw the draw the line there. Number two don't be your predecessor, your different leader. Do something better. And three don't overextend yourself. Make sure you create those boundaries, make sure you create the expectations, set yourself up for success.

Speaker 1: 13:05

How do I started each one with don't there, so I can yes, and so it's like take time to make the shift for you and people around you so good and so important I think it's so important.

Speaker 2: 13:17

I often say you know before, before you do that kind of transition, you should absolutely take time off, have a moment, get that objectivity Because, like you keep saying, you just can't show up the next day. And boy, it's hard to make those transitions and not fall into these pitfalls when you just jump into it that quickly.

Speaker 1: 13:37

So good, something we don't talk about often. So great tips of things to avoid. Way to go, james, thank you. Thank you, good stuff. How do you handle stress and stay calm under pressure?

Speaker 2: 13:53

You know that's a great question. In fact, somebody once asked me what my superpower was and or if I could have a superpower. I do think that a lot of these things are deep. You can obviously learn strategies on how to deal with stress and anxiety, but a lot of these things are built, you know, when you're a kid and these come from just you know how you grow up.

Speaker 2: 14:16

I have always had the ability to. When things get anxious, I go down when people get excited. You know I'm my makeup is like of a first responder, where I tend to not be escalated when things escalate and I can't say why that is, but I do that do a lot of things to manage anxiety too, like I'm. You know, I had a great coach, a friend of ours. John McKee, once said look, you're an athlete Just by the way you're wired, and and he's right that if I have a workout, whether I'm a good athlete or not, we didn't discuss because we know the answer to that. But if I work out, I'm better and I just need that. That type of muscle activity makes, helps me manage stress, and so whether it's working out, whether it's yoga, you know those things help me. But I also think I'm blessed with some sort of you know some genetic tools that allow me not to to stress. That's a great question.

Speaker 1: 15:14

Thanks for listening to this week's episode of Quick Take, where we talk about the questions that are on the mind of executives everywhere. Connect with us and share what's on your mind.

Speaker 2: 15:23

You can find us on LinkedIn, youtube or whatever nerdy place on the internet. You find your podcasts. Our links to the show are in the show notes. We appreciate you.