No matter how comfortable you feel in your position, knowing what your successor would do is critical. Why should you care? If you do not ask this question, your boss may and that could put you out of a job. The problem is, many businesses are looking at their top-line growth and are not seeing what they want to see. Many leaders are realizing, sadly, that even after all of the hard work they’ve put into the business that it is not working to produce the leaders of tomorrow.
If You Think You Might Be Replaced – Fix It Now
By asking a question like this, “what would my successor do” you can begin to see your position through the eyes of your employer. It’s important to start thinking about how you are the answer to the boss’s needs and how you can make sure he knows it. There’s a problem though.
If you need to fire the old version of yourself and hire a new and improved version that meets the needs of your boss more effectively when it comes to moving up the ladder, you’ll need to see the job more clearly. Often, when a person steps into a new position, it is easy to look around and see all of the problems that are there. However, over time, people mold into the position and those once easy to spot problems are hard to notice.
What’s Your Leadership Agenda, Then?
How will you show the boss you should be next in line? Realize first that you have time since most companies don’t like to let go of their senior leads. Then, consider the following.
- Don’t complain as it makes you look small and weak. Don’t explain either. If you have to explain a problem, then you look defensive, also something you want to avoid.
- It may be time to think about the power structure in the business and to get rid of any notions about those in it. Who has authority? Who is influencing others? How do these people communicate and manage conflict?
- Take the time to learn the business all over again. Be sure you conduct interviews to reintroduce yourself to the business. You need to think about things like customer needs, objectives, performance, opportunities, and competitive positioning.
- Be sure to sell yourself, too. You know what your goals are and to accomplish that you need to ensure those around you know what your goals are.
Put a plan in place that allows you to visualize a change in who you are on the job. You want to become your own successor because, ultimately, if you are not the best version of yourself, your boss is already looking elsewhere to find it.
Learn how to be more effective in your career by reviewing previous posts on this topic: