A Time for Transition

What is and what triggers a leadership transition?

A leadership transition can be described as any significant change in a leader’s role caused by promotion, secondment, changing organisations, merger, acquisition, restructuring or returning from maternity/paternity/career leave. In these situations, most leaders would have the opportunity to experience a transition in various forms; a new team, a new environment, increases in responsibility, working at a higher level of leadership, or in an entirely new area of the enterprise. Research indicates that the timeframe for leaders to stay in transition ranges from 3 months to 18 months.

One thing is for sure, in all of these circumstances, the shift is capable of pushing the leader into a transition state and providing some or many of the challenges and stress we know exist during a leadership transition that may include understanding the business at hand, prioritize actions, engage others, and guide performance.

Why is this important?

When this definition is applied across organizations, including public service, we can begin to visualize the number of leaders who are currently being considered ‘in transition’. Some of them might encounter low levels of effectiveness, poor productivity and an increased chance of derailment. Some will fall into line and raise their performance.

Where are the opportunities?

Firstly, the opportunity is for organisations to look at leadership transitions away from what is traditionally thought of as merely a phase experienced by those promoted or new hires. We need to recognise that others in leadership positions will also be in transition and could benefit from increased transition support that also develops them to their full potential. Several studies have shown that this transition support, which ranges from leadership role onboarding programs to mentors, potentially reduces the timeframe that leaders stay in transition.

Secondly, to transition successfully, leaders have to become students of their own experience and have to remain open to adapting their mindset and behaviour. There are models of leadership transition framed around time, tasks, strategies and agendas.

Lastly, remember to persevere because; whenever any set of tactics or strategies is employed, more times, transition in leadership comes with the requirement to monitor what is working and adapt as you go along.