Plot Twist: Your Executive Role Just Changed

In this episode of Executiveland, Elizabeth Freedman uses the analogy of landing in Paris after expecting a perfect trip to reveal why executive leadership feels so different today. The job changes while you are in it, leaving even seasoned leaders caught off guard.

Leaders now face shifting macroeconomic conditions, geopolitical pressures, and AI driven disruption. Traditional preparation from business schools and past roles no longer applies.

Key takeaways from this episode:

• Why unpredictability is the new normal and how to stop reacting and start anticipating
• How to build anticipatory muscles to adjust in real time, not just run scenarios
• The shift from pushing teams to mobilizing them quickly with clarity and confidence

Elizabeth offers practical advice on operating in uncertainty and delivering value even in turbulent times. Tune in to reflect on your leadership approach and gain actionable insights.

For more tools, insights, and strategies to lead with clarity and credibility, visit Elizabeth’s website, take the C-Suite Readiness Assessment, and subscribe to Executiveland on  Apple Podcasts and Spotify and so you never miss a new chapter of the unwritten playbook!

Past Episode Mentioned: Ep 22 - When Smart Executives Can't Get People to Follow

• Free C-Suite Readiness Assessment
• Website: https://esuiteleader.com/
• Forbes Column: https://www.forbes.com/sites/elizabethfreedman/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizabethfreedman
• Twitter X: @‌esuiteleader

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:05

Hi and welcome to Executive Land. I'm Elizabeth Friedman, and this is where top leaders go off script to share straight talk and the unwritten playbook about life in the C-Suite. For more ideas, visit eastsuiteleader.com. Now let's dive into today's episode. Hi, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Executive Land. And let's start by imagining a trip to Paris. Sounds pretty good. And let's imagine that you've been wanting to go to Paris for your entire life. And so to prepare for this trip, you go all in. You read the travel books, you study maps, you learn some phrases in the language. You cannot wait for this trip. But when you arrive, it is not what you thought. You start to speak in French, and everybody's confused. Nobody has any idea, actually, what you're saying. The maps that you have, they all lead to dead ends. And really, none of this makes sense. So many people have been to Paris, they have raved about it. But for you, um, this is not a dream vacation. And actually, you're in Paris thinking, is something wrong with me? You're thinking, like, I've always wanted to be here, but now that I'm here, honestly, I cannot wait to get the first flight back home. Now, this may sound crazy, but I'm gonna tell you, I have some version of this conversation all the time. Now, I work with executives and teams around the world. And when we talk about this kind of idea, we don't call it Paris. I often call it executive land. Now, we've talked about executive land here many times. Of course, it's what we call this podcast, but you've heard me say that executive land is not a place that you find on a map. It's really the combination of skills and behaviors and actions that really create success at an executive level. And they really matter whether we are, let's say, visiting executive land or whether we want to become a citizen. And what happens over and over for the leaders and teams I work with is that when they arrive in executive land, it is never quite what they expected. And I really do see this all the time. For example, you're a CFO stepping in to lead at an organization you think you're going to be driving growth and investment and maybe acquisition. And instead it's just cost reduction, it's restructuring, it's uh transformation. Uh, maybe you are leading HR for an organization and you are looking into taking business offshore, but the level of resistance that you are facing inside your own company is so intense, it is so strong, you find yourself thinking, you know what? This might just be too hard for us to pull off. I'm not sure we can do it. I have worked with CEOs who are leading new things inside their organizations. And instead of getting alignment and support from even their own executives, from the board, they're getting all kinds of pressure and even interference with their decisions. And so, look, we've talked about some of these things before, and you and I might say, hey, like, welcome to the life at the executive level. And certainly there's some truth to that, but that is not the full story anymore. Here's really what I want to say and underscore what it takes to perform at the top has changed, and in some cases, changed dramatically. The amount of change that leaders are experiencing has increased, but the work has not decreased. And what we're finding, and all of you know this, you're seeing all kinds of shifting in the geopolitical space, macroeconomic pressures. Let's not even talk about AI and how that is changing just every aspect of how we think and operate to some extent inside companies. So it's not just that this is a tough role, it's that the role is changing while you're in the job in dramatic ways. It's almost like we get on a plane to go to Paris, and while the plane is in the air, Paris changed. So you land, and again, it's not just different from what you expected. It is different than when you got on that plane. It is a major plot twist. And these kinds of like plot twists, the job is not what you thought, the economic environment is not what you thought, the level of support, trust, not what you thought either. All these plot twists are happening all the time now. And so this is why I think so many leaders say they feel unprepared. And again, by the way, most of them do say that. We know this from research, and you know, you've heard me talk about why that is. I think a lot about why is it that leaders feel unprepared? They're smart, they're talented, they're capable, they've had executive education from top schools. What is going on? So again, we look at the context for organizations that is shifting in real time. And here's the thing: too many leaders today, they are prepared for executive leadership, senior leadership for a version of their jobs that, in my opinion, no longer exists. All of that sort of stability or certainty, the slower cycles of change, that is just not the reality of enterprise leadership today. And of course, when leaders are not well equipped for this environment, makes sense that performance at that organizational company level may suffer. That is not the only reason, though, why I see there's really such a difference now in the kinds of roles leaders are being asked to take on. And maybe this just goes back to something fundamental we understand about executive leadership because it is not just getting a big job, it is not just a career move. Any of you listening, if you stepped into a big senior role, you're taking on a C-suite role for the first time in particular, I'm talking to you, and you know this. It is a huge life transition. It's one of the biggest life transitions you'll ever experience. And frankly, few people ever do experience. And one of the things that big life transitions have in common, you just don't know what it's really gonna be like until you're there. You can read books about Paris, you can study maps, you can learn the language, but you know, the only way you really know Paris is you gotta go to Paris. And that's the thing about these big transitions. There's only so much knowledge you can really internalize in advance. And you know, once you're in a big job, like all bets are off. The full magnitude of the role cannot be fully put into words. And even when this is a joyful transition for you, it is a wonderful opportunity. It's gonna come maybe with some mixed emotions. I often think of it like being a parent for the first time. You're kind of overloaded, maybe there's some stress, you're tired, it's understandable, but no wonder so many leaders describe feeling unprepared, particularly now. There's just only so much preparing you can really do. The real work and learning starts when you're in the job. So, what does this mean? What I see is a need to quickly build new and different kinds of muscles. That doesn't mean that all those important concepts around executive leadership go away. But to operate at this level, we have to see some shifts. We've got to see less reacting to volatility, which may seem counterintuitive, but really there's a need to make more measured, thoughtful decisions that help set direction. And when we think about decisions, leaders at this level can't just be executing decisions. We've got to ask questions, apply great judgment to drive better execution. And ultimately, you know, we're talking about doing better work to deliver more value, but some of this includes a difference in how we mobilize people quickly, actually mobilizing them versus pushing and driving. And so, how do you actually do this? Well, I want to just give you a few ideas to consider about how we have to prepare and think about the world today. And the first is getting better at anticipating. Anticipatory thinking, anticipatory muscles have to be strengthened. This isn't just scenario planning that I'm talking about. It's really being better attuned to what's coming and more importantly, adjusting in real time. And what does that mean? In part, it means we have to be able to meet people where they are. Really stay very close to the thoughts and feelings of the employees inside our organizations because once again, I want to say you don't mobilize people quickly just by pushing them hard. Getting very, very skilled at knowing how to bring other people along is essential. Some of you, I want to suggest, go back to the podcast episode I recorded about followership for ideas there. Another important muscle we have to develop is getting excellent at clarity. Clarity in thinking, clarity in communicating, and being able to provide that clarity when we are all under pressure. That means we can't wait for the right answers, the perfect answers. We have to recognize what matters now and also help other people see what matters now. And so I call a lot of these behaviors and skills being a lighthouse. You know, part of the job is you're providing that clarity, that direction, that discernment. You're pointing the organization in a certain direction over another. But part of being the lighthouse is you have to be the light. We have to help people not just see where we're going, what matters, but also that if we are able to stay on this path, progress is still possible. It's still possible because, you know, in environments like this, we have to see the light inside our organizations. You know, people are looking to leaders. You know this, right? This is true for all of us. It's not just about answers that you can provide. I need to see a confidence from you. A confidence that says no matter what comes, we can handle it. A confidence and a perspective, a sense that, you know, we will be okay. And also part of the light is helping us be the light inside ourselves, reminding us that, you know, even in all this uncertainty, we have choices about how we want to think, how we want to show up, how we want to feel. So we can wait to be told and wait for clarity, or we can help be the light that creates that for ourselves. It's not just that the environment is uncertain today. Of course, it is. The question is, are you prepared to operate in it? And preparedness, being equipped to think and decide in that kind of environment, lead in that kind of environment, mobilize others in that world is a huge competitive advantage. That kind of preparedness is so powerful when it comes to performance. And when leaders are equipped to lead this way, organizations can perform differently. They can move faster, they can make better decisions, there's less noise and resistance. And you know, this is the work that I think organizations and leaders really get to focus on now. Strengthening the new kinds of muscles that equip them, not in theory, but really day-to-day in the world, they have to lead in. And so if this resonates with you, I'm gonna be hosting a small group of executive HR talent and enterprise leaders. So if you fall into one of those categories, think about joining me just for a conversation. It'll be on May 14th. And this is a series that I'm gonna continue called the Executive Insights Forum. For this first forum, we're just gonna focus on what are the best companies and leaders actually navigating when it comes to this level of certainty? How are they doing it well? What's working for them, and maybe what isn't? What are some common mistakes we're seeing? How can we be better leaders right now? And so if you'd like to be part of that, you want to learn from colleagues and peers, I'd love to have you join. Just go to my website, reach out, contact me, and we'll be sure to add you to the invitation when it gets sent out. Check out the link in the show notes for more. Until then, good luck in Executive Land. Enjoy the journey here, and I'll see you next time. Thanks, everybody. Well, that's all for today in Executive Land. Thanks for listening. And if you're looking for more, check out my website, esweetleader.com, where you'll see all kinds of free resources and take the free executive readiness assessment. It shows you exactly where you're strong and where to focus next in your own leadership. And don't forget, subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. I'll see you next time in Executive Land.