Building leadership benches

By default, there’s a tendency to invest in your people that are struggling. To build a great leadership bench, try spending more time with people who are doing excellently already.

Time and again, investing more in your highest performing people unlocks more gains for you and your team. Ask yourself, “What are opportunities for my highest performers? Am I investing enough in my best people?”

Advice I got from Loredana: when you see a big opportunity for yourself or someone else, sometimes you just gotta go for it. You don’t know if it’ll work out, but you have to try.

The more senior you get, the more ambiguous spaces you’ll find yourself in. Leadership is squishy. You can start by having deeper conversations with your people.

It’s on you to identify projects and opportunities you think your people can succeed in. It’s going to take a lot of trust, and giving them space to explore.

I had a great manager in Margaret Stewart, and she was someone who saw more in me, and pushed me.

You can create a space for people to take a big leap, and let them know you trust them, and you’ll be there for them so they don’t fall.

You can help by identifying the right opportunities that match your people’s strengths. Beyond that, finding little moments to guide people behind the scenes once you create opportunities for them. For example, instead of expecting a fininshed outcome, my manager Jill gave me the space by asking me what my approach to an initiative was, even though it was still early.

We can setup senior ICs for better success by positioning them in front of leadership and senior stakeholders as a senior leader you already trust. You can continue to support your developing senior talent by creating more visibility for them.