Experience and history in an organization can be extremely valuable. When you have years in a role, your performance compounds. Ideally, it compounds wisdom, credibility, efficiency, and impact. Yet if you’re not careful, it can compound blind spots, frustrations, resistance to change, and complacency.
Tenure requires active management. If you have a history with your organization, reflect on these factors to ensure your experience is working for you and the teams you lead:
- Resist over-identifying with your role. Healthy tenure requires maintaining a self that exists apart from your title. If you and your job are one, it can cloud your judgment, incite defensiveness when criticized, and make your eventual exit even more challenging. Building a multidimensional identity gives you perspective and prevents you from clinging too tightly to your work.
- Stay aware of your authority shadow. History confers informal power that can suppress honest feedback and healthy dissent. Ensure that you create safe spaces for people to share how they really feel about direction, challenges, and new initiatives.
- Leverage your relationship capital well. Years in a company build trust and social capital. You know who can help you get things done. Use your influence to open doors for others and sponsor change. Resist drawing on your social power to protect the status quo.
- Focus on staying current vs. staying comfortable. Expertise can become a ceiling. Ensure that you continue developing your mastery. That way, you won’t mistake familiarity for fluency in a field that’s rapidly moving on.
- Succession is a leadership act. Supporting the growth and development of those who will replace you is one of the most valuable contributions a leader can make. Having a clear exit strategy prevents you from hanging on past the point of optimal performance. Knowing and planning when to leave is a sign of strength and security.
Ultimately, tenure is a multiplier. What it multiplies depends on your sound leadership habits. Steward your tenure well by committing to self-awareness, consistent growth, and listening deeply to those with fewer years of experience.
Founded in 2004, Lead Star is the company behind the best-selling books SPARK, Leading from the Front, and Bet on You. Lead Star helps professionals reach new levels of success through its innovative leadership development programs.
