You’ve landed the role.  Maybe it’s the one you’ve been working toward for most of your career or it’s the stepping stone before.  No matter, it’s big.  Everything’s grand except that you have more on your plate than ever before: more projects, more direct reports, more meetings, more expectations, and more relationships to manage.  You’re more visible in this role, too, with more responsibility.  The stakes are high if for no other reason than that’s where you aim.

You’re giving this all you’ve got, of course.  The challenge isn’t your drive or hard work.  The issue is that there isn’t enough of you to go around, not in this new capacity.  Where to most effectively focus your time, energy, and attention?  You need to be more strategic, you know, keeping your eye not only on short term deadlines, but on longer term goals.  And you also know you need to delegate more, get things off your plate, but which?  After all, you’re the person who is ultimately responsible for the division, the GBU, the (fill in the blank).

Oh, and on top of all this?  There’s your team, looking to you for guidance, mentorship, leadership.  You need to be a leader like never before, more confident and decisive, all the while bringing your direct reports up to speed as you find your own footing.  You want to communicate well, inspire those around you, help your team to function as effectively and autonomously as possible while precisely walking the line between being of help when needed and not micromanaging.  You want to be the leader who delivers results and is also good to work for.

And we haven’t even gotten to your EA.  You know they’re underutilized, that they could be better leveraged, of greater help managing your schedule and running interference, but when would you find the time to sit down and have that conversation?

If any of this is sounds familiar, one of the most common reasons I’m invited to work with already-super senior executives is when they’re preparing for new leadership roles or have just landed in one.

If you’re tired of drinking from a fire hose or want to avoid it altogether, you can reach me at sarah@sarah-levitt.com to have a mutually exploratory conversation about working with me directly.

The amazing leaders that I work with know that investing in themselves yields dividends far beyond their own success.  Although that’s a great place to start.