📝 usncan Note: How To Make The Leap From Contributor To Executive Decision-Maker
Disclaimer: This content has been prepared based on currently trending topics to increase your awareness.
Personal development, self improvement, personal and career growth, progress and potential concepts. Coach (human resources officer, supervisor) motivate employee to growth, bokeh in background.
getty
For many professionals, the most pivotal career inflection point isn’t the first promotion or even the first managerial role; it’s the leap from individual contributor to executive decision-maker. That transition requires more than technical excellence. It demands influence, foresight, and the ability to rally others toward shared goals.
Research consistently shows three strategies that separate those who successfully make this leap from those who stall: cultivating mentorship and sponsorship, building and managing high-performing teams, and developing executive presence. Deloitte research in 2018 found that only 14% of companies believe they have a strong bench of leaders ready to step into executive roles. That leadership gap underscores how much opportunity exists for ambitious professionals who intentionally build these capabilities.
Seek Mentorship and Sponsorship
Mentorship and sponsorship remain cornerstones of executive readiness. According to a 2024 survey by the American Society for Training and Development, 75% of executives credit mentorship as critical to their career growth.
Mentors provide guidance and help rising leaders avoid pitfalls. Sponsors, however, take it a step further: they advocate on your behalf when you’re not in the room. In other words, mentors talk to you, while sponsors talk about you. Together, they accelerate visibility and create career momentum, especially when combined with strong performance and authentic relationship-building.
Build and Manage High-Performing Teams
Success at the executive level isn’t measured solely by individual contributions but by the ability to multiply impact through others. Individual contributors are 32% less likely to be promoted compared to managers, according to research conducted by Dr. Andrea Derler and published by HR Executive in June 2024. Organizations prize leaders who can scale outcomes by delegating effectively, empowering teams, and creating the conditions for collective success.
Executives aren’t just performers—they’re multipliers. The sooner professionals learn to build high-performing teams, the sooner they position themselves for broader leadership roles.
Develop Executive Presence
Technical expertise may open the first doors, but executive presence keeps you in the room. A study by the leadership consulting firm Thrive Street Advisors found that 67% of senior leaders rank gravitas; confidence, calm under pressure, and credibility as the defining elements of executive presence.
Executives must inspire confidence when leading ambiguous projects, managing shifting budgets, and navigating evolving priorities. That presence becomes even more critical in hybrid and remote work environments, where visibility no longer happens by default. Rising leaders must proactively communicate progress, secure buy-in, and ensure both their own work and their teams’ contributions are recognized. Visibility, once a byproduct of office culture, is now a deliberate leadership skill.
The Leap to Executive Leadership
The journey from contributor to executive decision-maker is less about climbing a ladder and more about broadening your impact. Seek mentors who guide you and sponsors who champion you. Build teams that thrive without constant oversight. And cultivate the executive presence that reassures stakeholders even amid uncertainty.
Throughout my career as a senior fintech executive, I’ve learned that true impact comes from scale, whether acquiring new clients, growing an enterprise, or driving digital transformation. Mentorship and sponsorship often emerge naturally when you consistently deliver strong results and remain open to authentic relationships, even something as simple as a coffee chat with organizational leaders.
For ambitious professionals, the leap may feel daunting. But with intentional relationships, team leadership, and presence, the path to the executive table becomes not only attainable but inevitable.
