[00:01.8]
Hello and welcome along. This is Walk into your Next Grade. I'm your host, Fiona Bicket. I'm your resident professional development coach, and I'm here week in, week out to help you figure out the moves that matter most as you Get Ready for your Next Grade.
[00:18.1]
And in this episode, I want to talk about a process that I call clearing the path. So a lot of people I speak to, and I suspect you might be in this situation, know that you want to get ready for your next grade, whichever grade it might be. And they kind of, they're like, right so I know I need to show that I'm working at the next level.
[00:40.5]
Maybe they've got some clarity. They might have downloaded and The Hidden Curriculum Grade Guide. I'll put the link down below if you want to grab yours. So they've got some clarity. They know what it is that they are working on. Even before then though, they probably had a fairly good instinct on what it is they need to be doing differently that would let them progress to the next level.
[01:02.8]
And this is where I think clearing the path comes in. It is dealing with the kind of psychological stuff, the stuff that causes you stress, the friction in the role that you're doing that takes up all of your mental bandwidth and means that you're not getting to the things that you know you really should be doing.
[01:24.8]
So that might be bigger strategic work, it might be that chunky project that you're feeling a bit worried about because it's really big and you keep getting caught up in the day to day detail of things. It might be that there's somebody in your team who is not performing as they should do or where there are some behavioural issues that you haven't adequately tackled.
[01:47.3]
Whatever it is, there's probably something about your current role and the way that you're operating that is causing you some stress and friction and it's taking up loads of mental bandwidth which if you could deal with it, would just give you some more space and then allow you to claim your leadership bandwidth because we all know leadership is, you know, where we need to have space for bigger thinking.
[02:17.6]
We need to step out of the day to day operations so that we can do more creative thinking or problem solving on a larger scale and we just don't let ourselves get there because we're so busy with all this other stuff.
[02:34.5]
So clearing the path is my proposal for how we move through this. And what I'm seeing in my clients is, you know, really capable, conscientious leaders feeling overwhelmed with the stuff and just not finding time to think.
[02:57.8]
And I specifically put it that way, they're not finding time and notice even in that like finding time, vocabulary, it's like there's a trap in there, isn't there? Because what it suggests is that there is time there somewhere and they're like, if I just rootle around in this cupboard, I'll find some time.
[03:19.8]
That's not really how it works though. We need two claim it, we need to take time, we need to deal with those things that are taking up our mental bandwidth, as I said, to create time for ourselves. So there's a claiming that needs to happen. And I think it's interesting because, I've had a couple of clients recently where they've had feedback from their managers, saying things like, well, you know, I know that you're ready for more, but I can't give it to you until some of that stuff in your team is dealt with.
[03:50.8]
And, It's because they're in this place where they don't have capacity. So it's not that they're not capable, it's not that they're not competent. It's that they don't have capacity because the lead, their leader or their manager is seeing them caught up in this churn, cycle, and they're thinking, oh, my goodness, I need to protect this person.
[04:11.6]
I can't give them more because they're so busy with everything they're already got. So I need you to show me that you can create some space and some capacity so then you can move forward with the more challenging stuff. So clearing the path is what we're aiming for.
[04:29.1]
And I think what's really going on here is that the role might have shifted or you might be ready to shift the role, even if that's acknowledged by your line manager and they're ready to give you more responsibility and more accountability, but it's like you're still performing a previous version of the job.
[04:49.6]
And I think that is about, sometimes there's something about the earlier stages of our roles being about demonstrating value through responsibility. You're responding to issues, you're doing more, you're making up for things that are not working in the team by working extra hours, and so you get in this pattern of overworking.
[05:15.7]
Where at, more senior levels, the role shifts more towards accountability, taking account for what's happening across the system, across the team, across the service that you're leading and interpreting that complexity, setting direction, enabling others to carry the responsibility for the work itself.
[05:36.0]
And so that's a different approach, it's a different mindset, and it's a real shift in practice of what you're actually doing in your day to day. But there's this inner conflict that's created through that shift.
[05:52.2]
If you haven't made the shift yet, then there's probably this inner conflict is happening for you, where you're kind of in between two inner, storeys that you're telling yourself, or that you've heard throughout your life and you've kind of anchored onto is true.
[06:10.4]
One says a good leader carries their share of the work and never leaves problems unsolved and so there's this real drive to make sure that everything gets done and if the team don't have capacity, you step in and if someone's struggling with something, you step in. There's lots of stepping in when actually it should be stepping up.
[06:30.9]
The other that begins to surface is, if I continue working this way, neither I nor the system or the team will be sustained. Like, you know, some part of you knows that you can't go on like this. So creating thinking space feels morally questionable.
[06:48.1]
There's a bit of you that's like, it sort of feels wrong to take that space to think and what will the team think of me if they don't see me in the real work? And this is where we need to have a bit of a reframe about what the real work really is.
[07:06.3]
Leaders might worry about the team and you know what they're actually thinking about the team. They might be worried about the team, questioning, well, what are you doing all day? Because, you know, most of us have probably been led by managers and leaders where they're probably not doing that much every day.
[07:26.3]
But what it means is the conscientious, lovely, thoughtful managers and leaders out there are holding themselves back from being able to create this space and clear the path for themselves because of this storey that is about somebody else, not about us.
[07:43.5]
And underneath it there's this deep attention because there's a sort of sense of worth, our self worth being tied to productivity and, visible effort rather than the longer term impact of that deeper work and really solving root problems and all of that kind of stuff.
[08:05.1]
And there are several reinforcing patterns that lead into this trap, you know, you're kind of going through the pattern. So, internally solving the problem and clearing tasks produces a really steady sense of reward.
[08:21.4]
You're like, yep, tick that off. I've ticked that off. I solved this thing. I saved that person from that problem. You kind of get the, you know, superhero dopamine vibes where you're like, yes, I'm doing so much stuff. And yet you get to the end of the day and you look at your to do list and you're like, oh, well, I responded to loads of stuff, but I didn't actually progress the things that were on my list.
[08:43.9]
I just responded to everyone else's urgent stuff. Institutionally as well, many organisations reward responsiveness and visible activity more than they do reward thoughtful prioritisation.
[09:02.0]
You know, loads of us have this. Well, loads of you. I don't work in the system anymore, but loads of you have this constant stream of incoming demands. Senior leaders who do things that seem like kind of, ill considered sometimes quite ego driven. They might be, you know kind of legacy led projects.
[09:25.7]
Like I wasted a ridiculous amount of time one year trying to see if it was possible to brand the town centre of the town that I was in, that the university I worked at in because the Vice Chancellor was like "I really think we should have some branding around the town for this". It wasn't even my job.
[09:45.3]
I wasn't working as a branding person. I didn't work in facilities. I didn't have any of the roles that made that make sense, but my director was like "well I don't know this is what he wants. I guess we have to try", instead of pushing back and going we can't do that.
[10:01.1]
But actually we don't even have the budget to change the campus based signage until something breaks and we need to change it since our last rebrand so we're certainly not going to spend money branding the town. You know all of that kind of stuff where we need to be able to find some clarity through those priorities.
[10:20.7]
But instead, we're running around doing these kind of vanity projects for, senior leaders who have a whim that stupid stuff should happen, frankly. And in many institutions I think there's little, very little good role modelling of this stage of leadership, the transition from operational manager to systemic leadership.
[10:46.3]
It's really rarely made explicit and so it's difficult because you kind of imagine that the leaders, the good leaders that are around us maybe just woke up one day and knew how to do all of this stuff. But the result is a quiet but powerful misunderstanding that, about what the role really requires.
[11:09.9]
And there's a really sort of problematic hidden cost here. You know, it's not hidden to you if you're the one experiencing it, but it's hidden in the system, which is the exhaustion that accumulates for managers who are trying to progress into those leadership roles because you think, okay, well I need to do more, you need to be seen doing the next level role.
[11:34.6]
I can't stop doing all of this other stuff because my team won't be able to cope if I'm not there picking up the slack. So you're just stuck in this really vicious cycle and the, the cost of that is your health most often and resentment begins to appear.
[11:51.0]
You feel overworked, underappreciated, and the system just continues to create more demand. And developmentally there's a risk of being stuck in a sort of highly capable middle manager space and never progressing past that.
[12:09.3]
So the threshold moment, or like the turning point often begins really quietly. The fatigue accumulates, sleep becomes disturbed. You might realise you cannot continue to operate in this way.
[12:27.0]
And the first realisation is often a personal one, you know, you're kind of thinking, I can't survive this role if I keep working like this. And I don't think I even want to get into leadership if this is what it looks and feels like. And so loads of really thoughtful leaders or potential leaders and not even making that step because they just think, not worth it.
[12:48.6]
Why would I want to do that? It's so exhausting. Only later does then the systemic implication become clear. Without the space to think, the work that only you can do actually never happens. The root cause problems never get solved.
[13:07.6]
The urgency of fixing the day to day stuff just keeps rolling. There's an intentional commitment that needs to happen if we're going to shift this pattern. At first you might try calendar blocking, but we all know that without intentional, deeper, change and commitment, those calendar blocks just get overwritten with other stuff.
[13:32.5]
And then you're like, but I had this strategic thinking time blocked in my calendar and then these 47 other things happened. And so the time gets overwritten with other stuff and you never get round to the strategic thinking. Operational demands intrude and you might start to feel ashamed even that you haven't protected that time that you've created.
[13:57.1]
So you put it in your diary, but you haven't stuck to it and then that's just another thing you're beating yourself up about. The real shift occurs when there's an identity shift. So it's not about what's going on in your calendar, it's about how you feel, the storeys that you tell yourself about, what leadership really is.
[14:19.7]
So what we want to do is start moving with our team from rescuer, which feels really comfortable, it's really easy for us to answer all of their questions to, you know, step in and do stuff. And there's this sense of there being things that only we can do, but actually only we can do them because we've never delegated them.
[14:39.3]
And the team don't have all the information or the process steps that they need to be able to do it for us. So we start moving from that rescuer mode into more of a coaching mode where people come to us and go, this thing has happened. And instead of going, okay, leave it with me, I'll fix it, we're going, well, what, what could you do?
[14:57.9]
What options are available to us? How could you move this forward? What would you do if I wasn't here? Some of those great coaching questions that help people figure out the answers for themselves. And, responsibility starts to return to the people closest to the work.
[15:15.7]
And remember, maybe, you don't know. I conceptualise the difference between responsibility and accountability, where responsibility is about responding with action. So when you delegate to someone, you give them the responsibility, so I need you to do something.
[15:34.5]
Here's the authority to make decisions about that up to a certain limit versus accountability, where you say, when you get to the end of that, I will need you to tell me what happened. Did it work? Did it not work? What are we learning from this? What should we do the same or different next time?
[15:51.9]
And so we're sort of switching from responsibility, where we're responding to everything, to accountability and taking a coaching approach so that people can figure this stuff out for themselves and ultimately they are getting better at doing the work themselves as well, because they're learning to trust themselves.
[16:09.5]
They're learning that you trust them. We're developing our people at the same time as building our, own headspace space by taking this approach. And ultimately fewer problems flow upwards because your team are just getting on with stuff.
[16:25.9]
And gradually that space you've been, yearning for opens up. What happens next? Well, this transition, this shift from, responsibility to accountability, from rescuer to coach, can create a sense of loss.
[16:45.1]
Sometimes it's really normal to grieve for the proximity that we used to have to the team. We can kind of feel like, oh, but I kind of missed the days where things were simple I missed the days where all I had to do was spend 6 hours booking rooms and ordering catering.
[17:09.4]
That's not what I'm doing anymore. Now, I'm, sorting out the big, challenging problems. I'm discussing system changes and prioritisations and how do we spend the budget in the most effective way, and how do we deliver everything we've got to deliver when we don't have any budget, you know, whatever those bigger things are.
[17:31.2]
And leaders who have worked closely with their teams, like I said, they might feel that sense of loss at daily proximity and the sort of visible appreciation that you get as well.
[17:47.9]
You know, when you're in rescuer mode and stepping in to fix things for people, they turn around after that and they go, oh thanks so much and we feel like, oh that's really nice. I've got some visible, you know, kind of quick appreciation for something that I've done for someone.
[18:03.7]
And so you know we, we like that as humans we like being told that we've done a good job. We like hearing thank you and it's much longer, if we're doing the biggest thinking and the harder work and solving those problems at the root cause those are long term projects.
[18:22.2]
And so we don't get that quick turnaround on appreciation and pats on the back and thanks so much for doing that was amazing, you really helped me out there. What others might start to notice is your immediate team might feel that you are, becoming less involved in the day to day problem solving.
[18:43.1]
So for them, there also might be an adjustment period where they're like, oh, I thought you were going to do this for me. What do you mean? I have to figure it out. And so there can be a bit of a. An adjustment period for the team. Over time, they might begin to notice something else.
[19:02.4]
Ownership, becomes more clear. So they get what their job is and they get where the boundaries are, because you're constantly pushing things back to them and going, well, I'm not doing this. You do it because actually it's your job, rather than what have been happening before, where you're taking it back and rescuing them.
[19:18.6]
So those boundaries and ownership become much clearer when we're operating from this new identity as leader rather than manager, or coach rather than rescuer, managers and team members begin thinking through problems themselves instead of escalating things immediately.
[19:43.8]
Senior colleagues encounter the leader, more often in conversations about priorities, trade offs, direction. You know, it's a different type of conversation that you're having with senior colleagues and they will notice as those are the people who are ultimately sitting on regrading panels.
[20:03.8]
They're the ones who are thinking, oh I really need somebody in this role on a secondment basis, who would be good for that? So they are beginning to notice when you show up differently and the outcome is, well, if the leader fully crosses this threshold, if you suddenly, you know, make that shift out of rescuer into coach, you're working more in accountability rather than responsibility.
[20:29.0]
You're helping people to do the things themselves rather than doing it for them, then your understanding of leadership changes. Your value is no longer determined by the volume of work you're personally completing. Instead, you recognise something different.
[20:48.1]
At this level I'm actually paid to think, not to do, and to help others know how to think. And this is the real key difference between leadership and management, where management is helping people to know what to do and maybe how. Leadership, as I think of it, is helping people to know how to think.
[21:08.6]
And so taking this step into coaching mode and not rescuer mode, you're helping people to think through the work, you're helping them to think through the decisions that are available to them, identify what options they can take, all of that good stuff.
[21:24.8]
And so actually others know how to think too, not just to do the work. Responsibility is appropriately distributed and accountability remains with you as the leader. So you're going to have to put in some communication channels so that people are letting you know when things are going wrong before the deadline so that they can get rectified.
[21:48.0]
They're also flagging things to you. So when your boss turns around and goes, well, what the hell happened there? You know what happened there and you can tell them what's been done about it without having to be the one who steps in to do the do. Self worth shifts from volume to discernment.
[22:07.6]
It's about how you make those decisions, how you know what are the right steps to make next, rather than just stepping in and doing everything and being caught in the churn. And the system around you begins to operate with greater clarity, greater sustainability.
[22:25.6]
Suddenly you look back and go, oh, shit, I think I might actually be doing this leadership thing. Right, that's what I'm seeing with my clients at the moment. A lot of them have come through this phase. We've had a lot of those clearing the path conversations where they're dealing with boundaries with somebody in their team.
[22:45.8]
They're stepping out of rescuer mode. They're figuring out how to do coaching in the team. They're pushing things back. They're not doing so much do they are, you know, being really in accountability, not responsibility, and seeing the difference, but really reaping the rewards of that, in the headspace that they create.
[23:05.7]
And in creating that headspace means that your brain stops trying to give you that headspace at 3 o'clock in the morning because you're like, yeah brain we did that during the day, thanks. Don't need to be awake in the middle of the night. We've already processed everything that needs to be processed. We've made those decisions, we've come up with those ideas because there was enough spaciousness during the day when we created this leadership bandwidth to actually do all of that, thinking, then sleep better at night, have time and space at, weekends and on holidays to actually be present and enjoy being with our friends and family.
[23:41.9]
So if that sounds good, you know where to find me. Like I said, I'll put a link in the show notes for the Hidden Curriculum Grade Guide. It shows what the institutions are looking for, right? It's a meta analysis of how different role gradings are described by institutions.
[24:05.9]
So it's a, I took a big look at a load of different job descriptions and went, how do, how do we actually talk about Grade 8 senior manager roles? How do we actually talk about Grade 9 leadership roles? How are institutions talking about Grade 7 first line manager roles?
[24:23.9]
So what you find in the Hidden Curriculum document is what are institutions talking about when they describe different roles, different grades? What you find in this podcast and in my blog and things like that is what do you, the person who's making those moves, actually need to do?
[24:43.4]
Because we're here to help you figure out the moves that matter most as you Get Ready for Your Next Grade. Thanks for listening and if any of my current clients are listening, I just really want to say I see you and I appreciate you and I really, you know, it's the, it's the privilege of my career to see you, all of my clients working through this stuff, clearing the path, moving through these shifts in how they see themselves and their team and their relationship to work and the institution and maturing into these amazing, thoughtful leaders because we need more of that in this sector.
[25:25.4]
We need thoughtful leaders who do this stuff really well. Instead of responding from fear and contraction and worry and doubt, we need people who can create this space for themselves to think and lead, really values aligned ways that feel good for them, that create teams that people actually want to be in doing work that matters.
[25:47.8]
So thank you. If you're a current client listening, thank you so much. I really, I really, really honour you. I think you're doing amazing work and I will speak to you all next time. Bye.
