INsight/ Your Leadership Transition

Manila, 12 December 2024 — Intentionality is what drives leaders to make the most of their next transition. 

Story

It happened in 2009. Driven by a passion for bringing out the best in my colleagues, we started a leadership coaching program in our workplace, the Asian Development Bank. Soon, these colleagues were coming back with stories about how they had changed the ways they worked with their project clients, and how the results had exceeded their expectations. The power of coaching was making itself known to them and to me. What a start that was!

In the subsequent years, I have never stopped being amazed at what my coaching clients were able to achieve in their work after allowing themselves to make transformative changes in their mindsets and behaviors. Drawing on these experiences, we crafted a three-month program that would help leaders navigate important transitions in their careers: the Leader in Transition Program. It’s an exclusive one-to-one coaching opportunity for leaders to discover and practice new leadership behaviors in their work. 

Rayvathi (Ray) Rajendra is Vice-President Legal and External Affairs at an international corporation in Southeast Asia. Here is what she shared about her experience, “This program helps you articulate your leadership signature, who you want to become and how you wish to showcase yourself as a leader. It pushes your boundaries, helps you understand your strengths, and challenges you on how to transition to the next level, whatever that level may be.” Ray made the most of the program to embody her leadership in several executive roles. 

Challenge

As Ray mentioned, each leader will experience their transition differently, although some challenges may be similar. Common transitions among leaders are about preparing to deliver results in an executive leadership role, shifting to a role that suits their strengths and purpose, and leveling up with more effective leadership behaviors. Sometimes, the need for a transition is self-evident, while in other situations the leader discovers that their problem can best be seen as a transition to embrace and navigate.

Confidentiality is what powers this coaching relationship. What we see in all leaders who make the most of the Leader in Transition Program is their strong sense of intentionality to come as they authentically are, and to muster the courage and grit to keep stepping out of their comfort zone and make progress by practicing the new behaviors we work on together during our coaching sessions. We also see a happy release when they let go of their self-limiting beliefs.

Every leader who takes the Leader in Transition Program will be different, and that is what we expect. As Ray mentioned, the leaders will become familiar with their unique set of strengths and discover how they can best use and leverage these strengths in the areas of work where they want to make a significant difference. The program structure allows the leaders to focus on a unique challenge that is central to their transition, followed by practicing a set of embodied leadership behaviors to get results as soon as possible.

Question 

The new year will be upon us very shortly, and there is no better time to prepare for your next leadership transition than now. Therefore, my question for you this week is what leadership transition is coming up for you? 

We can’t wait to hear from you with your response and, if we are a good fit, to start working together to navigate your transition in the one-to-one Leader in Transition Program. 

If you have a strong sense of intentionality about making your leadership transition work for you, please set up a free strategy call so that we can discuss what you want to achieve. Then you can create a fresh start when you begin the new year.