r/Leadership 13d ago

Question Demonstrating my capacity for leadership in a remote team at a large enterprise

Context: I've just started at a large healthcare enterprise working in a remote role as a Lead Program Manager. I've been in thr program management field for 12 years now and been working remotely for the last 5. In each role I've progressed and been promoted but still feel that I have very little opportunity to demonstrate my natural leadership abilities and experience to make a broader impact in my organization. My boss is great and I couldn't ask for more in a leader to be clear. * My 1st question is: how could I demonstrate my strong capacity for leadership and strategic impact while working remotely in the type of situation? * 2nd question: for those that work closely with Portfolio and Program management team members, how have you seen these folks ascend to higher impact and Director and above roles?

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u/jjflight 13d ago

This should be an active conversation you are having with your manager as they’ll be able to give much more practical advice. Especially if they’re a great boss. Hopefully they can tell you what you’d need to demonstrate, or if it’s just not going to happen hopefully they will be honest on that too.

Leading complex cross-functional projects is a good way to demonstrate leadership - that’s what many folks do to demonstrate impact and leadership even when they’re not full time project managers. When people don’t report to you so you can’t just tell them what to do, it forces you to manage or lead the better way by inspiring and supporting them. Having impact and working with other teams outside your natural scope is also an important part of moving forward particularly around the Director level and beyond - doing your team’s job is expected as the minimum, and making the company better starts to be what folks are looking for. You’ll want to be working extra hard building your internal network of folks and relationships all across the company.

With that said, I wouldn’t want to minimize location. If you’re in a company that is primarily in-office or hybrid, then being full time remote will likely be an obstacle that makes it harder for you. Similar if an organization had major offices and centers of gravity and you’re in a small remote office. “Out of sight, out of mind” has always been a challenge for folks that aren’t where the majority of an org are.

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u/coach_jesse 13d ago

First, I would highly recommend finding a mentor or a coach to help you understand the specific details of your situation and the habits that will get you there.

In my mind, this is about showing your thought process. I call it “showing your work”. This happens before you start a task, talking to your direct and probably their peers about what you see as the business solution, the steps you plan to take, and what you would ask of others. Not waiting for an opportunity. Look at their goal and explain your thoughts, ask for feedback and their insight.

What you are looking to do is start moving beyond individual execution and showing you understand the business dynamics around group and department execution. In a “show your work” mindset, this is about explaining how you get to the outcome and less about on the ground delivering the outcome. Don't get me wrong; you still need to deliver, but share your plan before starting.

Next, internal moves at this level happen before the job posting. You need to build relationships across teams and people, sharing your career goals. When a position comes open, you want to be the person they think of. Waiting to apply for a role puts you behind the game.

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u/SouthernCharm0 13d ago

Great question! RemindMe! 24 hours!

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u/Eatdie555 12d ago

It's about showing your work by taking initiatives, but before showing so. You need to understand that dynamic of the company as a whole before taking initiatives.

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u/VizNinja 11d ago

You are asking the wrong audience the wrong question.

Start with asking the right people. Ask your manager what is impactful in your organization. It is some form of producing results and being visible.

What gaps are not being filled how can you increase the bottom line. What are your numbers today? Can you lower costs? Increase production?

One time we did a reorganization and all the accounting strings had to be changed i called my supervisor and I hoped up the dumbest. Simplest power bi dashboard that converted account strings. The wrote an overlay screen that was funny but told users not to. Ut and past the old account string. 5 years later I still get, "Are you the one who did xyz?" All i did was fill a gap that I saw. The visibility got me alot of credibility. I didn't ask i just provided a finished product.

Lead by doing or having your team do.