The Director Sandwich
Why this is one of the toughest leadership roles
Director-level folks are incredibly valuable. Their support in managing managers, guiding the work, and helping sure the strategy is executed helps orgs run more smoothly. Getting to the Director level is a big deal for many who seek to lead. We see an opportunity to have more autonomy. We hope we’ll get to have more say with the strategy. Our area of responsibility grows. The chance to have more impact is within reach. We’re progressing in our career. We feel content.
The friction begins. We feel it with the product as we try to ship features. We experience it with the people team as we work on performance management and leveling. Our teams feel it when projects stagnate or get de-prioritized. Decisions get made, adding stress to the team. Even though a direction was made without our input, we have to stand behind it.
As we try to resolve issues for the team, frustration rises. We feel like should be able to resolve them but we can’t. This makes us push for autonomy. We might even get into a controlling stance. Rigidity sets in. At some point, we wonder what we need to do differently. We wonder if the problem is us. Feeling defeated, we stop caring as much. We checkout. We may even give up.
We’re experiencing the effects of organizational friction — we just don’t recognize it yet. Before our director role, our sphere of influence was largely confined to our area. Now we’re increasingly operating at the organizational layer. We have more responsibility. The team might think our shiny new title gives us more authority. Technically on paper, we do. While we have some influence, we don’t have as much as we need to resolve organizational obstacles. We aren’t in the right rooms and don’t have quite enough influence. The team raises concerns. Our ability to address organizational headwinds is limited. Frustrations rise.
We’re sandwiched between managers/senior managers and execs likeVPs and the C-Suite. We feel the pressure on both sides. We have to influence without having much say. As directors, we feel the brunt of organizational issues but often have little say in resolving them. As issues continue, the team’s pain increases. The team vents their frustration at us (rightfully so) when we’re unable to resolve their pain. Then there’s the matter of communicating decisions we had no say in. We often aren’t involved in the messaging either. This makes communication tricky, especially in controversial or unpopular decisions. We feel inept or helpless.
Then there’s the question of ownership. Directors are often expected to take more ownership. We struggle when there’s a lack of clarity in decision-making. Are we information gatherers, influencers, or decision-makers? Who gets to weigh in? Who has the final say? How does this shift by situation or project?
Generally, there aren’t hard and fast rules for these kinds of dilemmas. It varies by company, sometimes even by the particular boss you report to. It might even change based on the initiative. Too often we don’t have the conversations to clarify matters. Ownership and decision-making remains murky leaving directors confused and unsure. What’s our role in getting things done? What’s our role in strategy? Wanting a measure of control, we might grab ownership, guarding our sphere of influence, rarely informing others of our progress. Feeling disempowered, others of us stand down completely, waiting for direction, to be told what to do. We might vacillate between the two.
This isn’t what we thought a director role would be like. We might even be wondering if we want to leave leadership altogether.
Resolving the director’s bind
There aren’t tidy solutions to this dilemma. Still, senior leaders can make it easier. Recognize the pinch director’s find themselves in. Create clarity on what it means to be a director in your organization. What’s expected of them? What is their area of influence? What decisions should they make? When do they need to confer with others?
This isn’t something you do once. It’s an ongoing conversation as the org changes, challenges arise, and directors grow in their careers. When should you talk about it? There are plenty of opportunities — new project kickoffs, project post-mortems, leadership changes, and shifts in strategy…there are plenty of opportunities. Most important to talk before friction develops and misalignment grows.
Give as much organizational and business context as you can. Better yet, invite your directors into as many rooms as you can. Being a part of the conversation provides valuable context even if they aren’t the final decision maker. Of course, be sure to let them know their role in that room (listener, information gatherer, influencer, decision maker). Inviting directors to these conversations is an incredible opportunity to see the complexity of running an organization.
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