Introduction
I have often observed that upper-middle managers will remain too deeply rooted in their specific departments or functional responsibilities. This results in a limited, vertical perspective. To be viewed as promotable, aspiring executives must develop a horizontal perspective that aligns with the organization’s broader objectives, demonstrating an understanding of enterprise-level dynamics essential for executive roles. This broadened view fosters a deeper understanding of interdependencies, enabling leaders to make balanced, informed decisions and collaborate effectively across functions.
This guide provides a high-level coaching framework for CEOs to use with their teams.
Initiate Cross-Functional Exposure
- Objective: Encourage managers to interact with peers across departments regularly.
- Coaching Action: Begin by setting up monthly or quarterly rotations where senior managers spend enough time in other departments to understand cross-functional processes and objectives. I suggest shadowing or project collaboration across departments to improve organizational efficiency and effectiveness. For instance, they should focus on gaining insights into operational dependencies, pain points, resource constraints, or opportunities for collaboration that benefit both departments.
- Discussion Points: In follow-up coaching sessions, ask, “What processes or decisions surprised you in this department? How could that influence decisions on your own?”
Facilitate Strategic Alignment
- Objective: Help managers connect their departmental or divisional team’s objectives to overarching company goals.
- Coaching Action: Organize brief, regular workshops to align team goals with organizational strategy. CEOs can facilitate these sessions to review company goals and ensure each manager understands how their area supports or complements these aims.
- Discussion Points: Use questions like, “How does your team’s work influence our strategic priorities? What adjustments could align your outcomes more closely with our enterprise goals?”
Encourage Problem-Solving from a Broader Lens
- Objective: Shift focus from immediate team or department challenges to enterprise-level solutions.
- Coaching Action: Encourage managers to look beyond internal problem-solving impacts or dynamics to anticipate the impact on external stakeholders such as customers, partners, and suppliers before they approve solutions.
- Discussion Points: Questions like, “Who else in the company and within our customer or supplier base could be impacted by this solution? Have you considered their perspective?” can deepen their awareness of interconnectedness.
Develop KPIs with Cross-Departmental Impact in Mind
- Objective: Foster a sense of responsibility for outcomes beyond departmental KPIs.
- Coaching Action: Work with managers to identify one or two KPIs that depend on or affect other departments. Where practical, tie these cross-departmental or cross-divisional KPIs into their annual compensation packages because, as management guru Peter Drucker said, “What gets measured gets managed.” This exercise drives them to understand how their work influences broader performance metrics. Add quarterly review meetings to assess progress on cross-departmental KPIs to your cadence to ensure a continuous focus on organizational impact.
- Discussion Points: Ask, “How can your team contribute to KPIs that benefit our entire organization? Who else should be involved to ensure success?”
Implement Peer Mentorship and Accountability
- Objective: Reinforce horizontal perspective through peer mentorship.
- Coaching Action: Pair managers with counterparts in different departments, encouraging them to meet monthly to discuss challenges and ideas. CEOs can guide these mentorships to ensure they focus on enterprise alignment. To maintain accountability, ask each manager to briefly summarize insights or action items from these mentorship meetings to ensure that alignment is continuously reinforced.
- Discussion Points: Questions such as, “What have you learned from your peer about our organization’s needs? How does this change your view on your team’s priorities?” can deepen learning.
Conclusion
Adopting an enterprise-wide perspective is critical for promotability and long-term leadership success. By following this framework, CEOs can regularly coach their senior managers toward a broader understanding of organizational needs. This shift from a siloed to an interconnected approach ultimately strengthens strategic alignment and drives better outcomes for the entire organization. By embedding this framework, CEOs can cultivate a promotable team with the strategic insight to lead at the highest levels.
