By Bill Benson and Jeff McGraw

Congrats, you have been promoted from a functional leader to a broader, more strategic role with a seat at the executive table! This article explores key areas you can evolve to make the transition as successful as possible. Additionally, we think this is a great roadmap for CEO’s and leaders who are helping an employee navigate this transition.

 

Transitions are a part of life, and success often depends on how well we adapt to them. Whether it’s moving from high school to college, single life to marriage and eventually parenthood, or frontline worker to manager, each step requires transformation. But perhaps one of the most overlooked transitions in the professional world is the move from functional manager to executive leader.

In large corporate environments, this jump often comes with a new title and a completely different role. But in mid-market companies, it’s more likely that a strong department manager is promoted to a broader role, taking on additional functional areas and stepping into the senior leadership team. The challenge? What got you there might not be enough to help you succeed at the next level.

This new role will require what you’ve already been doing well, but it is also critical to intentionally evolve. In many companies, structured development programs may be limited, so driving further growth, with coaching and feedback from others becomes essential.

As Melodie Wilding put it in her recent Harvard Business Review article,

“While a senior role comes with nice rewards, the transition itself can be disorienting. Leading leaders isn’t ‘more of the same’ — just with bigger teams and budgets. In reality, you have to fundamentally shift how you think about your role, how you spend your time, and how you measure success.”
Navigating the Jump from Manager to Executive – HBR

Below are some insights and pointers to help you navigate this shift successfully:

 

What to Keep Doing and Keep Building

People Management – Coaching, mentoring, and team development still matter, but now it’s about leading leaders. The job is to build systems and a culture that help others lead effectively.

Execution and Follow-Through – Results are still the bottom line, but leaders must do it through others, not by owning every task. They must empower teams while staying focused on outcomes.

Communication – Clarity, consistency, and diplomacy remain vital. But now they must also inspire and align broader audiences, both internally and externally.

Problem Solving – Still important, but now the problems span functions, departments, and even the market. The lens must shift to bigger-picture, more strategic issues.

 

Skills That Must Evolve

Hands-On Control – Managers often succeed by being close to the action. Executives must step back, delegate, and build trust. Micromanagement doesn’t scale.

Functional Focus – Managers often have risen through deep expertise in one area. Now they must take a holistic view of the business by integrating strategy, financials, talent, and market dynamics.

Quick Decision-Making – Managers often shine through rapid decisions and short-term wins. Executives must weigh long-term implications and broader stakeholder interests even when decisions are still needed quickly.

Approval Seeking – It’s natural for managers to seek guidance from above. But executives must own decisions, trust their instincts, and lead confidently in ambiguity. Regular “check-ins” with the CEO or peers are helpful, not for approval, but to ensure alignment.

 

The Intangibles That Define Executive Leadership

Enterprise Mindset – Think beyond your team. What’s best for the whole company?

Strategic Orientation – Connect the dots. Anticipate change and position teams accordingly.

Influence Without Authority – It is rare to have formal control over everything. Success depends on persuasion, alignment, and coalition-building.

Comfort with Ambiguity – Frequently, decisions must be made with incomplete data, evolving priorities, and competing interests.

Emotional Intelligence – Self-awareness, empathy, and grace under pressure are now leadership essentials.

Scalable Systems Thinking – One can’t touch everything directly anymore. Instead, provide strategic direction, clear guidelines, and systems for accountability.

One suggestion from the HBR article:
“Asynchronous systems also give you visibility without creating more overhead. You might ask for biweekly or monthly written updates highlighting key metrics, wins, challenges, and upcoming priorities from each manager. Or you can have each team create a dashboard that tracks critical data points so you can check status at a glance rather than schedule multiple meetings.”

Resilience and Accountability – The “buck stops with you.” Executives must absorb pressure, own outcomes, and remain composed during turbulence.

Curiosity and Learning Agility – Executive leaders are constantly learning about their teams, industry trends, strategy, and self. It’s no surprise that many great CEOs are voracious readers and lifelong learners.

 

Final Thought: It’s Not Just a Promotion — It’s a Transformation

This shift is not about leveling up the past role. It’s about becoming a new kind of leader, one who shapes the organization, influences outcomes beyond their direct span of control, and creates the conditions for others to succeed.

You are not just leading a team. You’re shaping a company.