Transitioning Experts into Leadership Roles
Most careers in knowledge-intensive fields begin with technical expertise, and people advance because they know more or do more than others. But as experts rise, they are increasingly asked to lead other experts, often outside their own specialty. This is the shift from expert to orchestrator: moving from being the best “player” to being the conductor who brings diverse talent together so the whole outperforms the parts. It requires four mindset shifts: from expertise to enablement, from mastery to influence, from ego to ecosystem, and from performance to continuous practice, ultimately creating the environment where others thrive and deliver exceptional outcomes.
The Expert to Orchestrator diagnostic
Leadership development for knowledge intensive industries
Most careers traditionally progress on the basis of technical expertise. This is particularly pronounced in services and knowledge intensive industries. These individuals progress because they offer a level of expertise that is exclusive and distinguishes them from others. They thrive as Experts.
However, as experts rise through the ranks of the organization, they are increasingly asked to lead other experts, typically outside their area of expertise. We call this the journey from Expert to Orchestrator.
The Expert to Orchestrator workshops assist leaders to demystify strategic leadership so they can succeed in the challenging transition from expert into the leadership of others. The Expert to Orchestrator tool is based upon the Competitive Advantage Accelerator, used by global leading organizations and the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. It includes peer benchmarking to give data-driven personalized insights on how leaders should focus their time and talents for maximum strategic impact.
Peer Benchmarks and Group Analytics
Group analytics are also available for organizations to identify and address development needs for groups and key areas of the business.
Professor Michael Smets explaining the leadership transition from Expert to Orchestrator
