Which one do you need to shift?

Author

Kacy Maxwell
October 08, 2024

If you’ve been following me on LinkedIn for any length of time you’ve probably seen the leadership graphic for this week. It’s one of my favorite visuals that I’ve created to date. There is a lot packed into this graphic, plus you can use it to assess your own leadership in your current role.

🔵 THE 5 KEY LEADERSHIP SHIFTS 🔵

The idea came to me when studying the differences between individual contributors and leaders. The thing I couldn’t get out of my mind was that the transition for each of these didn’t happen immediately like a light switch. None of these shifts were a ‘one day you are and then next day you’re not’ sort of thing. All are gradual and take time to shift; more like a dimmer switches.

🔑 WHAT EACH SHIFT LOOKS LIKE 🔑

  1. TODAY → TOMORROW A leader is not only focused on the task at hand but is also looking to the future. Sometimes, you need to put down the fire extinguisher and pick up the binoculars.

  2. PLAYER → COACH Running plays can be faster than teaching others how to execute them. But if you can’t make this transition, you'll always have to be on the field.

  3. CREATE → DELEGATE It’s often easier to just do the work yourself. But if you don’t delegate to your team, you become the bottleneck. And delegation isn’t just about pushing work downstream—true delegation takes time and intentionality.

  4. SELF → TEAM It’s no longer about your individual accomplishments. You aren’t running solo. You are now in charge of a team, and you win when they win.

  5. COLLABORATE → EMPOWER It’s natural to want to jump in and help the team, but much like delegation, if your team can't act without you, they won’t reach their full potential. Empowering your team to move independently will supercharge their performance.

And to extend the analogy further, there are times when you move these switches to the right, and sometimes, depending on the scenario, you have to move them back to the left. For instance, if a team member leaves, you may need to shift back into the player role, focusing on getting the work done that day. Or, if you find that something you've delegated isn't being done correctly, you may need to step back in to train the team member by showing them how to execute the task. It’s fluid, and these sliders are always moving.

So, how do you use these sliders to assess your own leadership journey? First, download the image above and plot where you think you fall on each of these scales today. Then, ask yourself: which of these areas do I need to shift to the right or to the left? Once you've identified an area, you can start working on what must be true to make that shift. Maybe it means hiring someone, or perhaps it means letting go a little more. Whatever the case, the self-awareness that comes from this assessment will help strengthen your leadership.

🎙️ WATCH ME UNPACK THIS CONCEPT 🎙️
📚 DIG A LITTLE DEEPER