Managing leaders
Line management has always been a prerequisite for a corner suite in pharmaceuticals and other industries. Moving up the ranks to a middle management role is a major opportunity for committed and talented employees. So what should a talented manager do to evaluate the possibility of being promoted to run a region? Below you will find tips for assessing your readiness, building your comprehension of regional leadership competencies, evaluating your qualifications, and creating a positive impression before, during and after the interview. Step 1: Assess Am I ready to lead a business unit 10 times the size of a district? Ted was ready to take on greater challenges in his job. His team was consistently ranked as a top-performing district in the company, his representatives were often the first in the region to get promoted, and he was creating new and successful approaches to drive the business not just for his district but also for the region. There are many ways district managers can grow within the company other than moving up; sometimes a move over before moving up builds a greater set of skills and experience to excel with when the promotion does occur. Leslie Mirani, a senior director of national sales accounts for nephrology at Amgen Inc., provides some of her own insights into key rotations for high-potential district managers: "District managers who aspire to become regional managers have a competitive advantage in the candidate pool if they first come in-house and do a marketing promotions job. This or another corporate rotation will help the previously field-based manager to understand the business more objectively and help them deliver results in the regional manager role." Relocation is a question all ambitious sales managers should address before throwing their hat in the ring for a promotion. Candidates with limited willingness to relocate traditionally encounter fewer opportunities than those who are willing to relocate not just once, but several times within their careers. Step 2: Comprehend What is different about the RSD role versus the DM role? An important question many DMs ask when exploring the career option of leading a business unit is how the job will be different from their current one. Debbi Limones, director of sales training and development for Abbott Laboratories, explains the differences in competencies between first-line managers and leaders of managers: "Regional managers need to be effective at coaching the coach. They need to understand the process and skills associated with people development, talent development and performance leadership. The district manager's job is very technical, with many functional abilities needed to do the job. The RM role is much more strategic. DMs are often reactive as leaders in their response to people and competitive situations, whereas the competent RM is more proactive about developing people, leveraging what's working in their area of business and finding ways to transfer their successes to others in order to benefit the entire organization." Step 3: Evaluate Will I be considered a candidate at my company? To answer this question, first review the company job description for the regional sales director position. Second, evaluate the job. Do you meet the minimum requirements? Do you also have some of the preferred experience? This is a formal way to analyze what you already have that the next job requires and what gaps in your resume you need to fill. Then update your career development plan and seek out the opportunities you need to round out your professional or educational experience. Third, look at the culture of the company. What do people who have previously been selected as regional managers have in common that is not in the job description? Were they good at networking? Did they have access to an influential mentor in the company? What are the common threads of experience, presence and reputation among the most recently promoted regional sales directors? Networking is a key practice for identifying openings in the company caused by promotions or departures. Networking takes time, but the payoff can be a competitive advantage for the sales manager who hopes to advance in the company. Step 4: Deliver How should I prepare for this level of interview? Before: In preparing for the interview, it is important first to be honest with yourself. Do you want to make the sacrifices necessary to succeed at this level of leadership? What do executives like Mirani, who oversees a team of approximately 200 employees, look for in candidates they are interviewing? "The key skills and attributes I look for in potential regional managers are the ability to consistently deliver results, develop and coach other people, handle performance problems swiftly and appropriately, and network well with others," she says. During: Walking into the interview for the regional sales director position, it is important that you be able to discuss past results. The ability to describe sales results, people development and processes implemented will be a strong platform for the interview. Also consider your ability to: * Articulate your leadership philosophy. * Explain how the next job fits into your long-term career plans. * Discuss the personal support systems in place to help you fulfill the essential functions of the new job. * Communicate your understanding of how the new role will be different from your current role. After: After interviewing for a job, people are often so busy trying to find out whether they will get the job that they fail to take the time to assess their performance during the interview or send out thank-you notes to interviewers. A great strategy for leaving a strong impression after your interview is to send a thoughtful, handwritten or typed note or letter expressing what you appreciated about the interview, what you found most useful about the discussion and a positive thought on the overall experience regardless of the outcome. Of all candidates who apply, the majority do not get the job; however, even if you are not chosen, you can distinguish yourself as a committed and loyal employee (and a great candidate for the next regional manager opening) and possibly find new networking contacts or mentors. How you present your unique qualifications, leadership style and abilities and the impressions you make during as well as after your interview can launch you from where you are today to where you hope and plan to be tomorrow.
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