NEW YORK CITY, NY--(Marketwire - September 20, 2010) - Aspiring business leaders feeling stalled in their career climbs could be making two common mistakes: Not realizing the importance of surrounding themselves with a capable management team and, equally important, making well-intentioned, but misguided, decisions when it comes to building those teams. That's according to John Beeson, principal of Beeson Consulting, succession planning and organizational development expert and author of the forthcoming The Unwritten Rules: The Six Skills You Need to Get Promoted to the Executive Level (Jossey-Bass, October 2010).
"Being able to build a strong management team is essential to an aspiring leader's success and ability to advance to higher levels within the organization. Many managers who recognize this still fail because they pull the wrong levers to create team strength; they devote too much time clarifying staff members' roles and responsibilities and trying to increase team morale -- and not enough to putting real talent on the team," said Mr. Beeson.
Mr. Beeson is available to elaborate on how aspiring leaders can identify and focus on the highest-impact team-building measures -- and avoid career-stalling wheel spinning. For instance, aspiring managers can demonstrate their team building capabilities by...
- Thinking long and hard about the skills and experience you really need on the team.
- Deciding where you, the aspiring leader, should be spending your time. "Executives should think more about where they can add greatest value to the company, and figure out ways -- and identify the right people -- to effectively delegate the rest," Mr. Beeson said.
- Using that information -- the skills that are needed plus where you really should be focusing your time -- as the backdrop for: (a) evaluating the strengths, development needs and career interests of your direct reports and (b) devising a long-range plan to upgrade the strength of the team.
- Proactively looking for talented people -- both inside and outside the company -- that you can attract to your team.
- Developing your staff through challenging assignments. "Identify those staff members who have the potential to take on more responsibility and truly stretch them," Mr. Beeson said.
- Stepping up to performance problems on the team. "Don't let them fester," he added. Performance problems, if not addressed, sap energy from the team.
- Letting your "stars" move on to bigger and better assignments. "This creates an opportunity for you to bring new talent onto the team," he said.
"By taking these steps you create a virtuous cycle within your team. When people within the organization see the career success your team members have achieved, it becomes that much easier to attract stars in the future. And as your team gets stronger, you can delegate more and free up your time to concentrate on the activities -- like leading innovation -- that increase your chance of moving up to higher levels within the company," Mr. Beeson said.
To schedule a conversation with John Beeson or for more information, please contact Frank Lentini of Sommerfield Communications at 212-255-8386 or lentini@sommerfield.com.
About Beeson Consulting
Founded in 1998, Beeson Consulting provides management consulting services to some of the largest, most respected companies in the world. Services include succession planning, top-talent development, executive assessment, organization design and executive coaching. For each client, the firm brings to bear best-practice expertise; practical, action-oriented solutions; and a consultative, customized approach. All Beeson consultants have a combination of corporate and consulting experience.
To learn more about Beeson Consulting, please visit www.beesonconsultinginc.com.
Contact Information:
Contact:
Frank Lentini
Sommerfield Communications
212-255-8386
lentini@sommerfield.com