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Proximity to business results

Stra

tegi

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Policy and advisory Change management / technical leadership

Front line operations and service delivery

Business strategy

Functional strategy

This is unlikely to be a successful move. The learning curve on a number of fronts e.g. leading large teams, direct accountability for targets is too steep to tackle in one move.

Functional policy

Transmitting the strategy: Can this person translate and communicate the strategy in a way which is actionable for their part of the organisation?

Junior policy / strategy

Leading diverse groups: Can this this person work with and motivate groups of diverse individuals i.e. not just like-minded professionals?

Tackling the new: Can this person confidently tackle relatively unfamiliar problems and develop effective business solutions?

Vertical moves through the levels represent typical career progression, but skipping levels creates problems

Horizontal career moves are the most difficult / developmental

Diagonal moves (i.e. an increase in ‘level’ and ‘type’) are possible but are likely to fail if they are not managed carefully