My newly formed leadership team consists of highly competent technical specialists, but they are still spending all their time doing tactical work instead of leading and managing. How do we transition them from being high performing doers to true leaders?

This transition requires a fundamental shift in how your team views their value. When people are promoted to leadership because they were excellent individual contributors, they often default to doing the work themselves because it is comfortable and familiar. You must teach them that their value now lies in their ability to Lead, Manage, and create Accountability, which is the LMA framework in the EOS® model.

Start by updating their seats on the Accountability Chart to reflect their new responsibilities. The roles should explicitly include LMA alongside their department specific outcomes. This defines leading and managing as their primary job, not an afterthought.

Next, work with them on delegation. Use the Delegate and Elevate tool to help them identify tasks they can hand off to their direct reports. This frees up the necessary capacity for them to focus on high level strategy, team development, and tracking department metrics on the scorecard.

Hold weekly one on one meetings with each leader to coach them through their transition. Ask them how they are spending their time and help them resist the urge to jump back into the tactical weeds. Reinforce that their success is no longer measured by their personal output, but by the performance and alignment of the team they lead.

Category: Leadership Team