The Next Level

The Next Level Plot Summary

Introduction

Advancing to an executive role is one of the most challenging career transitions you'll ever make. The skills that brought you here will not necessarily be the ones that help you succeed going forward. Research shows that around 40 percent of new executives fail within their first 18 months, not because they lack ability, but because they fail to recognize the fundamental shifts required at this level. The transition demands more than just working harder—it requires working differently. Throughout your career, you've likely excelled by becoming an expert in your field and delivering exceptional results. But now, as you step into executive leadership, you face a new landscape with different rules and expectations. Your scope has expanded, the stakes are higher, and the complexity has multiplied. This isn't about abandoning your strengths, but rather about consciously choosing which behaviors to continue, which new skills to develop, and which habits to leave behind. Success at this level demands not just professional transformation but personal evolution.

Chapter 1: Embrace Your Leadership Presence

Executive presence isn't about projecting an image or playing a role—it's about developing genuine confidence in your ability to contribute at the highest levels. When you feel uncertain in this new territory, remember that insecurity makes for poor leadership. Think about managers you've known who exhibited insecure behaviors—indecisiveness when issues needed resolution, micromanaging out of fear, claiming credit for successes while deflecting blame for failures. These behaviors stem from doubt, and they undermine both personal effectiveness and team performance. The journey to authentic executive presence begins with understanding how you are when you're at your best. Consider Donna Morea, president of CGI-AMS, who shared her experience: "For me, I have found that as I become more confident in my role as an executive, I'm actually a lot more 'me' today than I was twenty years ago. I know how to channel it... I really do believe that it is important for you to be you." Donna discovered that her slightly unorthodox, more social and personally intimate style actually became an asset when she learned to align it with her executive role rather than suppressing it. Developing this presence requires a willingness to let go of what brought you to this level. As Bob Johnson, senior vice president at Nextel, explains, "You probably have to change what you do, but not who you are." This distinction is crucial. The technical or functional expertise that earned your promotion must now take a back seat to broader organizational and leadership skills. Sid Fuchs, division president at Northrop Grumman, described his realization: "I had to give up something, to let go of the need to feel like I was the expert. When I was coming up through the ranks as an engineer, I was a pretty good engineer... As I worked in different companies and moved up, I realized I was spending more time doing the technology piece and that I wasn't spending enough time developing the leadership skills I needed." To build your confidence as an executive, practice several specific behaviors. First, view yourself as a peer to other executives—they've chosen you to join their ranks because they believe you belong. Second, silence your inner critic that questions whether you're ready. Third, before important meetings, visualize how you want to show up—what Drew Carey did before his first Tonight Show appearance, practicing his routine for six weeks while visualizing Johnny Carson calling him over to the couch. Finally, trust your gut when something feels wrong, even when everyone else seems certain. Your fresh perspective may spot issues others have become blind to. Embracing your leadership presence means finding comfort in your new role not by clinging to past strengths, but by operating from how you are at your best—then having the confidence to bring that authentic self to your executive responsibilities.

Chapter 2: Master the Art of Team Reliance

The most challenging shift for many new executives is moving from self-reliance to team reliance. If you've reached this level, you're likely accustomed to being the expert, the go-to problem solver, the one who gets things done through personal effort and skill. But as Marc Effron of Hewitt Associates explains, "We don't succeed at the executive level because of additional functional strengths. We succeed because we start to eliminate some of the derailers that have always been with us in our career." Consider the experience of Henry Lucas, CEO of Engineering Consulting Services. As his company grew from one office to twenty-four with seven hundred employees, he struggled with the transition: "I am an engineer and I enjoy engineering. As the company grew and I took on a broader leadership role, I found myself getting dragged back into day-to-day issues probably more than I should have. At one point you wake up and realize that you have to stop being what you were at the beginning of your career and become something else... if you have a real passion for what you do for a living, there is a certain part of you that doesn't want to give that up." One of the biggest barriers to this transition is ego. You've received positive feedback throughout your career for getting things done. Your sense of identity may be wrapped up in being the expert everyone relies on. As Sid Fuchs of Northrop Grumman advises, "Often when team players work and play on the same team, they are in some sort of competition with each other. I think as you reach the executive level you need to realize that you can't compete with your team. The way you get your satisfaction and your merit is based on how well you do in helping the team succeed." To master team reliance, start by getting the right people in the right roles. When Mark Stavish joined AOL as its HR leader, he quickly realized "I had to hire people who knew a whole lot more about things than I did. And then my role was to try to figure out how to orchestrate it and be the external salesperson to the rest of the organization." Don't hesitate to make changes when someone isn't the right fit. Ed Sannini of Morgan Stanley notes, "If it is not the right person, you have to take them out and replace them or else you are going to be doing their role and you can't do that at an executive level." Next, redefine how you add value. As Steve Linehan of Capital One describes his transformation: "I was working my butt off, and there were a lot of late nights and producing a lot of work, but my performance review wasn't that great. The tough love there was that I had to stop doing what I was doing in terms of doing it all, doing all the work myself. I had to really focus on getting other people to do the work." Linehan learned to apply the 80/20 rule, focusing his energy on the 20 percent of effort that would yield 80 percent of results. A practical way to assess where to focus your efforts is to regularly ask yourself: "What is it that—given the perspective and resources I have as an executive—only I can do?" Everything else that doesn't make this short list should be handled by your team. By building genuine team reliance, you create the space to operate at the executive level where you can have the greatest impact.

Chapter 3: Define Outcomes, Not Methods

As an executive, you must become what Bob Pittman at AOL described as "the keeper of the what, not the master of the how." This fundamental shift requires letting go of your tendency to dictate methods and instead focusing on defining clear outcomes. For someone who has reached the executive level by consistently demonstrating functional expertise, this can feel profoundly uncomfortable. However, it's essential for both your success and your team's development. Steve Rippe, retired major general and current COO of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, demonstrated this principle when President Reagan died. Months earlier, Rippe had defined what was needed—a viable plan for conducting a state funeral at the National Cathedral—but instead of creating the plan himself (which he was certainly capable of doing given his military background), he hired a retired lieutenant colonel as director of operations and assigned him to develop the plan. When the call came that Reagan had died, Rippe had a complete, color-coded plan ready. While the funeral preparations demanded intense activity, Rippe was able to maintain normal working hours because he had defined what needed to be done but let his team determine how to accomplish it. George Sterner, vice admiral and commander of Naval Sea Systems Command, learned this lesson throughout his naval career. As an expert in certain aspects of engineering, Sterner often knew the "right answer" to technical problems. But after commanding one submarine, he began inspecting forty different subs annually. "I realized that there are hundreds of different ways of running those submarines. And a lot of them turned out pretty well. It was just not the way I did it. That was a big lesson," Sterner recalls. Even when you believe you know the best solution, allowing your team to determine their own methods achieves two critical objectives: it develops their capabilities and frees you to focus on executive-level responsibilities. To implement this approach effectively, first get clear on the big picture. Bill Plamondon, former CEO of Budget Rent A Car, suggests asking your boss: "What is the job description? What are the responsibilities? Describe for me, in writing if you can, what the objectives are. What are the behaviors that you think are appropriate?" Once you understand the larger context, communicate clearly to your team what needs to be accomplished, not how to accomplish it. When defining outcomes for your team, focus on perspective transference—sharing the insights you gain from your executive-level view that they can't access elsewhere. Mike Lanier of Verizon compares this to the team-building exercise where blindfolded team members must be guided from point A to point B. As the only one who can see, you must clearly communicate direction while checking regularly for understanding. Set expectations about both outcomes and your involvement. Steve Linehan of Capital One tells his team: "I expect them to come in with a point of view. A lot of times when people are not sure, they will want you to get involved in solving the problems with them... You don't have time to do it anymore. I can't be engaged in problem solving. That's what I need the team to do." By establishing these ground rules upfront, you create clarity about what success looks like and when your input is needed. Remember that your role in defining what to do builds next-level capacity in your organization. As Lucien Alziari observes, "When it's really working as it should, you are doing your boss's job and they love you for it." By focusing on outcomes rather than methods, you enable everyone to play at their highest level.

Chapter 4: Develop Your Broader Perspective

As you ascend to the executive level, your perspective must expand from "me and my team" to "us as the leadership team" and ultimately to "them"—all stakeholders and competitors in your external environment. This progression represents one of the most profound mindset shifts required for executive success, moving from a function-centric to an organization-wide perspective. Steve Smith of American Electric Power describes this challenge: "You have to be incredibly focused to move up that chain... You are self-absorbed in what you do every day. That's a good thing at the lower levels because you are very focused on execution and getting stuff done. As you move to VP, you still have to be concerned about where you fit in and how your group is viewed, but you also have to take a broader view of the organization and what your value is to the organization." Laura Olle of Capital One highlights the expectations that come with this transition: "My expectation of the new vice president is that they will do the right things for the company even if it means individually they might not meet their objective or whatever is on their particular agenda. You have to be much, much more self-sacrificing as a VP." This might mean giving up resources, adjusting your functional priorities, or even letting your star performer move to another part of the organization for the greater good of the company. Bill Christopher's experience illustrates this progression. When he was a director at McKesson Process Technologies, his focus was solely on his key customer relationship, which represented about 50 percent of the business unit's revenue. Upon becoming a vice president, his perspective changed dramatically: "Now the role I am in is even beyond just what the business unit can do. It's about what McKesson is going to do overall. What is our contribution to that? Basically, any time I am making any decision about spending or strategic direction, I try to think about what it is going to do to McKesson overall." To develop this broader perspective, you must first get out of your silo. Steve Smith warns against the common mistake where new executives "focus on building a power base in terms of size or budget dollars without really seeing how the value proposition for them and their team applies to the rest of the organization." Instead, collaborate with peers and share information and resources to create synergy where 2 + 2 = 5. You also need to cultivate the habit of regularly challenging your assumptions. Mark Stavish, formerly of AOL, believes executives often fail because "they don't challenge their own organization enough. They don't ask if the assumptions are right. Is our direction right? Are we doing things the way we really should be doing them?" Cathy Abbott, former CEO of Columbia Gas Transmission, agrees: "A big piece of your job is to shift to scanning the market conditions to look externally at the corporation and ask what ideas are out there that need to be brought to your organization." Developing a broader perspective requires regular external networking and consciously looking beyond your immediate environment. As Jay Marmer of Hydro Aluminum North America discovered when hearing Jack Welch speak about geopolitical issues during a GE leadership conference: "I remember sitting there thinking, 'My God, we're here talking about how to make a refrigerator and this guy is off on what's happening in the Middle East.' The point is that there are so many things you have to be mindful of as a leader in the business. I realized I had to get much more broad-based in my thinking." By consistently practicing this outside-in view, you'll transform from a functional expert to a true business leader capable of navigating the entire organization through its competitive landscape.

Chapter 5: Build Strategic Executive Connections

When you become an executive, your footprint in the organization dramatically expands. Your words carry more weight, your actions receive greater scrutiny, and people's expectations of you fundamentally change. While you might feel like the same person you were before the promotion, you must recognize that your impact has magnified. As Sid Fuchs of Northrop Grumman puts it, "I'm onstage. I'm in a fishbowl." This heightened visibility creates both opportunity and risk. Consider Laura Olle's surprise when she reached the executive level at Capital One and discovered the degree to which people were watching and "reading into" her every move. Or the experience of one executive who made an offhand joke about job security during a reorganization, unintentionally terrifying employees who took his words literally. Another executive regularly "thought out loud" about potential restructuring options in front of staff, creating months of needless anxiety as rumors spread after each casual conversation. To leverage your expanded footprint effectively, you must first understand how to build meaningful connections across the organization. As Bob Johnson of Nextel explains, executives serve as "ambassadors of the culture." This means thinking before you speak, considering how your words might be interpreted, and recognizing that even casual comments can dramatically affect morale and productivity. When visiting field locations, Johnson focuses on creating a safe environment for feedback: "The employees don't want me to defend why it is what it is. They don't want me to do anything but to encourage the feedback and really just take it in and listen." Building strategic connections with your executive peers requires a different approach than competing for resources or attention. Marc Effron of Hewitt advises: "One of the challenges in transitioning from the individual contributor role is recognizing it doesn't always matter if you are right... The right solution is the one that actually solves the problem with all members of the group being relatively happy that they are moving in that direction. Part of the right solution is recognizing that consensus in most organizations will be more important than individual brilliance." Your external representation also takes on greater importance. As Roger Ailes titled his book, "You Are the Message." How you dress, speak, and conduct yourself becomes a reflection not just of you but of your entire organization. One senior executive lost credibility with government clients simply because he preferred casual flannel shirts while his clients wore conservative suits—creating a disconnect that undermined his brilliance. Similarly, executives who constantly check email during meetings send a powerful negative message about what and who they value. Finally, your bigger footprint comes with higher expectations to deliver results. Catherine Meloy, who spent most of her career as a senior vice president at Clear Channel, describes the change in pace: "The part that changes is the immediacy of action which is expected. If the top leaders think about it today, it needs to be done this afternoon... There is always that funny thing about, What did you do for me today? It is almost, What did you do for me this minute?" The executives who thrive at this level are those who use their expanded footprint to build political capital by getting things done with and through others. As Mike Lanier of Verizon observes, "If you are perceived as going places, I think you get a lot more support from your peers." By consciously managing your presence, building strategic connections, and delivering consistent results, you create a virtuous cycle where your influence grows along with your impact.

Summary

Moving to the executive level represents a journey of transformation that extends far beyond a job change. It demands a willingness to examine which behaviors and mindsets serve you at this level and which must be left behind. The executives who thrive are those who develop the skill of strategic choice—deciding what to pick up and what to let go of as they navigate this uncharted terrain. As one executive reflected, "A relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies." The same applies to your leadership journey. Your path forward doesn't require you to become someone else, but rather to bring the best version of yourself to these new challenges. The lamp that illuminates your next steps comes from understanding how you are when you're at your best and creating conditions that reinforce those characteristics. Take time this week to identify one behavior you'll pick up and one you'll let go of to enhance your executive presence. Remember that each step forward builds momentum toward transforming not just your career, but your capacity to create meaningful impact in your organization and beyond.

About Author

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Scott Eblin

Scott Eblin is the co-founder and president of The Eblin Group, a professional development firm committed to helping executives and managers improve their leadership presence by being fully present. As an executive coach, speaker and author, Scott works with senior and rising leaders in some of the world’s best known and regarded organizations. Scott is the author of two books. Business Book Review described his first book, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success as a “fascinating read” that “is full of potentially career-saving advice.” New York Times best selling author Marshall Goldsmith says Scott’s newest book Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative “will fundamentally change how you live each day.” As a former Fortune 500 executive himself, Scott knows the demanding expectations and challenges his clients face. He coaches busy, successful leaders in what he calls the “school of real life” to help them identify the strengths they can build on along with the vital few opportunities that will help them be even better. Scott is an innovator in the field of coaching who has worked with hundreds of clients in individual and group engagements that yield measurable and significant improvements in leadership effectiveness.Scott is an honors graduate of Davidson College, holds a masters degree from Harvard and has earned a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University where he is also on the program faculty. He is also a Registered Yoga Teacher.

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