What New Executives Need to Master, Fast 

Succeeding at the executive level requires specific skills – the 3 Cs of Calendar, Confidence, and Communication 

New executives who make a fast, successful transition tend to master three things: how they manage their calendar, how they build confidence at a new level, and how they communicate with impact. Most leadership training stops short of teaching these skills directly, which is where coaching has stepped in to close the gap. 

American organizations used to offer systematic training - often based on US military research and methods - to consciously craft their organizational culture and develop their people from onboarding, through career progression, to preparation for the executive level. 

The military and some larger organizations still offer this kind of structure. For the past few decades, most of us have been left to figure this out on our own. 

Executive and leadership coaching have sought to bridge the gap. 

Executives benefit from coaching by having an unbiased sounding board and a partner to practice new mindsets and behaviors, including these 3Cs. 

Executive Skills - Mastering The 3Cs 

What new executives need to master fast: the 3Cs. 

Effective executives - and leaders at all levels - need business acumen, strategic and operational perspectives, technical competence in key domains, and solid relationship and communication skills. 

New executives often hit a wall pretty fast and use coaching to figure out: 

• How to get things done – without burning out 

• How to have greater influence and impact 

• How to show up authentically and intentionally 

The reality they initially dislike is that they have to unlearn many of the habits that have made them successful so far. 

Calendar: Pay Yourself First 

How new executives manage their time without burning out. 

This may seem counter-cultural, maybe even delusionally self-indulgent, but the most successful executives we’ve known are highly disciplined about their time and focus. And, they’ve built this discipline over time, even before they got to the top. 

Why? Because you have to be in condition to lead or you will fail. 

The Discipline: 

• Clearly define what you want to offer and stick to it 

• Determine what must be achieved and set aside the wants 

• Be ruthless about who and what deserve your time 

• Operationalize: Make your calendar match your offer and priorities 

  • Build a foundation of self-care first so that you’re in condition to lead (Yes, that means sleep, food, relationships, and your own development) 

  • Next, block your best thinking and productive times 

  • Then, set the cadence – layer in the standing meetings and communications, using a sequence that minimizes re-work 

• Get back on track when the inevitable disruptions happen 

We often work with leaders and teams who feel at risk of burning out. They are overwhelmed, feel somewhat powerless, and can’t see beyond the hundreds of emails, back-to-back meetings, and long hours.  

We work through this approach with them to shift their self-perspectives, their behaviors, their processes, and their communication. 

Confidence: Step Up and Step In  

How to build executive confidence  

It takes a certain degree of self-confidence to get to the executive level. Likewise, your reputation has to have instilled confidence in others that you can deliver. 

And yet, every executive we’ve coached has had to navigate self-doubt at some point. That’s because the learning never stops.  

If you continue to serve as a leader, you will be challenged beyond your existing comfort and capability. Expect it. Plan for it. 

At every stage, you’ll have to decide to step up and step in as these clients have: 

Executive 1 

An executive we’d coached through executive training and into his first few executive roles had the epiphany during a contentious meeting that he was now “the boss”.  

Suddenly he realized that it was up to him to make the tough call and change the team’s course.  

He described this as a “duh moment”. 

It had taken a little time for his self-concept to catch up with his new reality. Once he saw that, he shifted his thinking and stepped in with greater confidence.  We discussed his growing self-awareness and what he wanted to do going forward. 

Executive 2 

An emerging executive realized that she often held back and went with the flow. Her goal was to rediscover and use her voice with the responsibility and power available at the executive level.  

She stepped up and took on roles that challenged her to be visible even when it felt risky. 

In coaching, we prepared for upcoming situations, staged experiments, reflected on her thinking, behavior and results, and built on her accomplishments. 

She was selected for executive service and felt transformed in her ability to advocate for her people and for results, with confidence. 

Communication: Impact and Influence 

How executives communicate with greater impact and influence. 

Executives have to be exceptionally clear in their communication up, down, across, and outside the organization 

Executives have to cultivate relationships and trust through sincerity, reliability, and competence. That is often conveyed through communication of expectations, decisions, and results. 

The biggest difference at the executive level is the ability to have greater impact and influence by speaking in the audience’s language. 

Some executive clients are concerned that shifting communication styles is “code-switching” or inauthentic. We work through how to be effective, professional, and “real”. 

30-Second Rule or BLUF 

What is BLUF and why executives should use it. 

A well-known technique we practice with clients is the 30-second rule or the BLUF (Bottom Line Up-Front).  

We encourage clients to develop leaders and staff at all levels to use this approach – in one-on-one or group interactions, presentations, and in email. 

The premise is that your audience – especially an executive audience – is listening for “What do you need from me?” 

Provide that answer as if you only have 30 seconds of the executive’s time. Provide the bottom line, up-front, rather than starting with the background and narrative. 

Make it easy to provide the decision or answer. 

Example: 

Opening:  We need your go/no-go decision on the IRIS System go-live by Tuesday at 4:00 PM.  

Pause: This may be all they need to hear in order to provide the decision.  

Be Prepared: Go to the next high-level piece of information that you anticipate they need in order to make the decision.  

Continue or Close: Go to successive levels of detail until complete. 

If this approach is used in writing, use this flow and clear headings so they can stop reading at whatever point allows them to provide the decision/response requested. 

Where Leaders Struggle 

Common challenges new executives face. 

 Every executive we’ve coached has had at least one of the following situations: 

• Executives are operating one or two levels below what their titles indicate – and this cascades through every level of the organization, which contributes to frustration, inefficiency, and burnout

• “Executives” are seen as mysterious – managers aspire to the title but don’t know how to develop what they can’t understand 

• Staff feel stifled, unheard, or unprepared – often because their leaders don’t have the bandwidth to develop them and because they don’t know how to communicate in the way executives need  

The Ones Who Make It 

What separates executives who succeed from those who don't. 

We’ve seen consistent patterns in our work with emerging and experienced executives: 

• Self-awareness and self-management are non-negotiable 

• The most successful pay themselves first through disciplined focus and energy management 

• Influence and impact come from building relationships and communicating in the manner their audience requires 

• They remain engaged by cultivating and offering their strengths to produce meaningful outcomes  

Over the course of several years, we coached the president of a financial services organization. He excelled at focusing on what mattered most while maintaining balance. His executive coaching schedule was set at the beginning of each year. He only rescheduled one session in all that time. He prioritized his own leadership development in order to make his organization successful.  

That kind of discipline doesn't happen by accident, and it rarely happens alone. The executives who navigate this transition well are usually the ones who found a thinking partner early, someone to help them see their own blind spots before those blind spots became costly.   

If you're thinking about building a coaching program for the executives in your organization, contact Colleague Consulting to talk through what that could look like.   

If you're an executive considering one-on-one coaching for yourself, reach out to Anne Teehan, Executive Coach directly to discuss your goals.