Leadership and Development: Transitions

Transitioning from Middle to Senior Management

Any transition requires a level of insight into which attitudes and behaviours need to change and which may still be fit for purpose. Transitions at work are also made within a ‘goldfish bowl’ and the consequences of making an unsuccessful transition can have far-reaching consequences for the individual, their family and the organisation within which they are placed. At this event, we had two skilled coaches sharing their experiences of supporting people through those leadership transitions.  See below for more details on speakers and topics.

Prof. Jill Flint-Taylor

Adjunct Faculty member and Professor of Organizational Psychology at Ashridge Executive Education at Hult International Business School

In the move from middle to senior management, it is often a case of “what got you here won’t get you there”. Or more accurately, how to make the most of your proven strengths while flexing your approach to give your leadership greater breadth and depth. Psychometric measures are particularly useful in this context, as they go beyond how someone does things currently. They provide insights into areas of potential that have not been encouraged to flourish in a career to date, as well as flagging up strengths they individuals may be at risk of overplaying. Psychometrics can also help to identify characteristics that underpin success in an operational role, but often get in the way of contributing to strategy and innovation at senior levels. This session looked at how to choose a test or questionnaire that suits your purpose, meets the required standards and has a positive impact in helping to nurture talent.  Jill, as an Adjunct Faculty member and Professor of Organizational Psychology at Ashridge Executive Education at Hult International Business School, focuses her research and practice on the psychology of assessment, leadership and resilience. She works mainly with clients in professional and financial services, international development, central government, and the health sector.

Dr. Angelina Bennet

Chartered Occupational Psychologist, Director of iPotential Ltd.

The MBTI® is one of the most popular tools used by coaches in the UK  (McDowall & Smewing, 2009) and it is seen as particularly useful for leadership development.  Most coaches will use it to promote self-awareness and introduce the idea of adapting one’s behaviour to improve communication and relationships to suit a variety of types.  Whilst this is a great use of Psychological  Type, and certainly a good starting point, how do we use the model to facilitate actual transformational growth?  In this session Angelina introduced a model that combines Psychological Type with Ego Development theory (Loevinger, 1976; Cook-Greuter, 2004) supported by aspects of her doctoral research thesis and her book The Shadows of Type: Psychological Type through Seven Levels of Development.  This model provides the opportunity to use Psychological Type for transformational growth within the individual.  Reference was also made to the MBTI®Step III™ instrument and how it can be useful for transformational coaching

Angelina is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist with expertise in assessment, development and coaching.  Her other specialist skills include data analysis, research design, and the creation of innovative psychometric tools.  She is the lead creator of the RADAR risk attitude assessment tool and co-creator of an Employee Engagement methodology. She is one of the UK’s leading practitioners in Psychological Type (e.g. MBTI®) and is one of only ~80 Type Practitioners in the world qualified to use the MBTI Step 3. She is the previous President of the British Association for Psychological Type (BAPT), and the author of the 5 star rated book, ‘The Shadows of Type – Psychological Type through Seven Levels of Development’. Her Professional Doctorate in Occupational Psychology from London Metropolitan University explores developmental coaching and the further development of the Myers-Briggs model of type. She is an Ashridge accredited coach and is certified in Group Process Facilitation.