Janice had been Department Head for several years. She was good at it. She was comfortable in it. People admired her for it.

But for the past few months, perhaps it was the COVID situation, she started to feel stale.

It was time for a challenge. She’d never considered herself particularly ambitious – not a typical corporate ladder-climber and she didn’t want to be one.

So when a GM role came up that was within her skill-set she applied, not thinking she’d even get an interview.

And she was right – she didn’t.

But now she felt a little annoyed – surely she had proved herself to be an excellent leader in her current role. She worked hard, was reliable, had high standards, had a team that liked her. She was entitled to this promotion, surely!

She didn’t understand why she didn’t even get an interview! And frankly she didn’t rate the guy who got the role very highly – full of himself and she didn’t think he worked particularly hard.

And this is where Janice got lucky. It just so happened that her flight back from Brisbane was delayed, and as she sat in the airport lounge she found herself right next to Alison, the GM from another area of the business.

They grabbed a glass of wine and a few nibbles and the conversation began. And what Janice learned while they waited for their flight changed everything.

By the time they boarded Janice had learnt how the successful candidate had got the job – he knew what she didn’t know:

*That being good at your job is nowhere near enough

*That having the skills is not enough

*That the new role requires proven levels of influence, relationships and communication

*That it’s a business role first and a specialism role second

*That it’s about having and executing ideas in the business

*That she’ll need to prove she’s got grit, resillience and persistence

So with all that and more in her kitbag, she went home and made a plan.

If she’d been doing it now, she would have downloaded my white paper ‘The Female GM: how to nail the role and excel in it’. And that would have laid it all out for her – what she needs to do and why.

Here’s the link.

Nevertheless, thanks to that conversation with Alison – and a few others she started to build important relationships with, she nailed that role and is growing as a person again.

Register for my white paper and I can help you do the same. Whether your leadership ambitions are GM or not, it makes essential reading.