Stepping into a bigger Director or VP role can create pressure to prove yourself quickly. But the first 90 days are not only about quick wins. They are about learning the system, building trust, clarifying priorities, and setting up sustainable leadership patterns early.
Being indispensable may feel like trust, but for Directors and VPs, it can create dependency. This article explores how senior leaders can move from being the safe pair of hands to building leadership capacity across their teams.
Usually, it starts when a leader realizes how much thinking they are doing alone, how much is changing, and how few places they have to test their perspective. You are expected to make better decisions, anticipate more complexity, influence more stakeholders, and stay steady when the answers are rarely obvious. At the same time, fewer…
Most of the senior leaders I coach do not reach out when something is mildly off.They tend to reach out when something has clearly shifted. A reorganization changes their scope. A key relationship becomes strained. Or they notice a quieter signal: the work that once stretched them now feels more routine than energizing. At the…
Most people assume executive presence arrives with the title. The executives who shaped my thinking showed me the opposite: their presence was built long before the board gave them the job. Early in my career, I had a front-row seat to that process. I was leading the establishment of a program portfolio office, working closely…
For a long time in my career, tenacity was one of the strengths people most often associated with my leadership. It showed up as staying with difficult problems, pushing through uncertainty, and not backing away when the work became complex or uncomfortable. In fast-moving environments and high-stakes roles, that persistence helped me deliver results and…
Many capable leaders resist visibility because it feels too close to self-promotion. Especially for those who lead through results, reliability, and service. But at senior levels, visibility isn’t about drawing attention to yourself. It’s about helping others clearly see how your work supports decisions, reduces friction, and moves things forward. For many leaders I work…
Self-awareness isn’t just about identifying weaknesses. It’s about recognizing and trusting your strengths, understanding what energizes you, and leading in a way that feels authentic and effective.
