Stepping up to play a bigger role is not an event; it's a process that takes time before it pays off.
Because we are rarely good at out new roles at first, we are loath to let go of old behaviours. What slowly starts to become more and more apparent is that our goals for ourselves are changing. That's when reflecting on what we have been learning by doing becomes invaluable, so that the bigger changes that ensue are driven by a new clarity of self.
In her new book, "ACT LIKE A LEADER, THINK LIKE A LEADER," Herminia Ibarra argues that you have to act your way into a new type of leadership thinking instead of thinking your way into it. Contrary to popular opinion, too much introspection anchors us in the past and amplifies our blinders - shielding us from discovering our leadership potential and pigeonholing us as our past selves, instead of pointing the way to the self we can be.
This type of inside out thinking can impede change and hold back careers. Instead we need to develop what Ibarra calls "outsight" - change from the outside in that occurs only when we act like a leader before trying to think like one. To exercise outsight, don't try to unearth your true self. Let it emerge from what you do by plunging into projects, experimenting with the unfamiliar and interacting with different kinds of people. You'll then let go of old habits and sources of self-esteem that define your current limits.
Stages of Stepping Up to a Bigger Leadership Role
Stage 1: Disconfirmation. Feeling the gap between where you are and where you want to be. Increased urgency to spur first action steps.
Stage 2: Simple Addition. Adding new roles and behaviours (without subtracting old ones). Increased outsight; getting quick wins on low-hanging fruit.
Stage 3: Complication. Back-sliding, setbacks. Exhaustion from making time for both old and new behaviours; obstruction as the people around you encourage your "old" self.
Stage 4: Course Correction. Frustrations that raise bigger career questions. Time to "bring the outsight back in": reflection on new experiences to re-examine old goals and make new ones.
Stage 5: Internalisation. Changes that stick because they are motivated by your new identity and express who you have become.
The stepping-up process almost always starts with a gap between where you are and where you want to be. That's the spark that motivates us to take action.
Reference: Herminia Ibarra: “Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader”
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