How to Balance Operational Results With Strategic Thinking
In SHAMBAUGH’s “Women Rise” study, we found that one of the biggest barriers for women in senior roles is not feeling valued or respected by others in their organization—one out of two women surveyed said this was a major impediment to their advancement. Bloomberg recently reported out of 68 million white-collar workers, only 1.3% were promoted in the first quarter of 2024 — the lowest in five years.
I’ve seen this firsthand when executive coaching in women’s leadership as well. When speaking to women about what holds them back in their careers, I’ve seen both ends of the spectrum. On one hand, many feel they aren’t valued or respected enough, but on the other hand, others feel they’ve become so good at their jobs that they become pigeonholed into something and are unable to grow.
What can you do so you are setting yourself up for success to grow and advance your career? Being seen as an excellent operator or “worker bee” in your role may not be enough. One way to break out of this pattern and perception is to increase your ability to balance delivering operational results in your day-to-day job with the type of strategic thinking that leaders need.
The reason this is so important is that promotion conversations typically revolve around not just performance in your current role, but potential for strong leadership. While judging an employee’s performance is straightforward based on business results, evaluating someone’s “potential” is more nebulous, as it involves specific leadership qualities and ambition.
One key to overcoming this problem is finding the right balance between delivering operational results with being more strategic in your role. In SHAMBAUGH Leadership’s coaching and development program, we help women gain greater insights into ways to expand strategic leadership, providing specific tools, practices, and targeted coaching. Here are some strategies we have utilized that have allowed women to successfully address this issue that may be helpful in your career:
Be an Advocate for Yourself
To help find the proper balance between strategy and operation, you want to avoid those situations in which women end up stuck in an area of expertise because they do so well and are so efficient—even perfectionistic—that they’re seen as too valuable to promote out of that role. On the flip side, you don’t want to lack visibility within the larger organization, since this can lead to the view that you can’t see the bigger picture or are less comfortable with other senior leaders who happen to be male.
To avoid both of these problems, you should be a strong advocate for yourself by declaring what you want in your career. Ask for the next role you aspire to and be clear about what kind of support you need to bridge the gap and become a strong leader in it. Let others know about the value you can provide to the company in that role.
It’s about taking the initiative to steer your career, which means being open about your interests and ambitions and broadening your skills and visibility to position you to compete in the future. As the saying goes, “don’t let your job get in the way of your career.” Take on roles or experiences that you feel would help you build yourself for the future role or the “long game”—roles that help you showcase not only your ability to deliver on an operational level, but to contribute more strategically. You might even consider making a lateral move to gain specific strategic experience that you need for your next role.
Being only operational or only strategic will limit you, so it’s important to show you can do both. It’s important that we deliver on our operational goals, but don’t become too “heads-down.” Think about the bigger picture and strategy while you continue to achieve ongoing results.
Don’t Wait for Opportunities to Come to You—Be Proactive
Know that successful women didn’t wait for opportunities to come along—rather, they kept their head up and sought out those opportunities by actively pursuing them. Have the confidence to know your unique strengths and capabilities. Then have the courage to flex different muscles—take assignments out of your swim lane that will open up more strategic opportunities, expand your portfolio of skills, and expand your brand eminence and credibility as a leader.
One way to be proactive is to participate in strategic discussions, not just operational ones. The goal is to share your observations and be part of discussions about broader business strategy; for example, by sharing your thoughts on the competitive landscape or longer-term market or industry dynamics.
If you have an annual business objective in your role, you might also consider creating a business plan that highlights actions or investments that could change the business trajectory over three years. Executive coaching and leadership development can help you build your strategic “muscles” and see inflection points in your part of the business.
Get Out of Your Silo
Another important focus for adding more strategic thinking to your operational role is to build your network around multiple functions and areas in the business, like marketing, finance, HR, legal, supply chain, procurement, and research. Build your board of directors to include these types of roles so that you’ll have a wider range of advocates and sponsors to provide helpful feedback on ways to bring greater value.
You can also use your political savvy to network within the organization find out where the opportunities are that have a greater impact on the business, and identify key strategic growth areas so that you know what’s needed. Getting out of your silo and targeting growth areas will help you develop other insights, so that you’ll have a reliable launching pad for your strategic recommendations.
If you or your team have advice for women in leadership that you’d like to share or questions you’d like to ask about this topic, please reach out to me at info@shambaughleadership.com.
Link to SHAMBAUGH’s offerings on Executive Coaching, Leadership Development, Coaching and Development Programs for Women, Keynotes, and Fireside Chats.
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I’m also happy to share a recent Forbes.com article where I stressed how important it is for us to keep a strong pipeline of women who are ready to lead effectively in the C-level.
While we’ve seen progress in women’s leadership over the years, that progress has also made us complacent and our focus and prioritization on DEI programs has waned. For the first time in 20 years, we’re seeing a decline in the percentage of women in key leadership roles. If we don’t build a strong pipeline today, we will continue to see this trend for years to come.
Producing the next female CEO will not happen overnight. Organizations need to give women the opportunities to expand their business acumen and build mastery. But women also need to advocate for themselves, recognize their strengths, and position themselves for those strategic and value-adding roles.
Do We Have The Pipeline Of Women To Fuel Future CEOs? (forbes.com)
Rebecca Shambaugh is a recognized author and speaker on leadership best practices. She is president of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the bestselling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor. Read Rebecca’s best-selling Harvard Business Review article “To Sound Like a Leader About What You Say and How and When You Say It.
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