How Do I Define My New Role to Set Myself Up for Success? | Coaching Real Leaders

This episode is brought to you by Accenture. When your advertising operations fall out of sync, everything else follows. Spotify and Accenture are working together to reinvent the rhythm of ad sales using automation, analytics, and smarter workflows to simplify campaign delivery and access better data across the business. The result? Less time spent on operations, more time connecting brands with the moments and fandoms that matter most. Learn more at accenture.com/spotify.

This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini in Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration blog, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini in Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses. Setup required. Compatibility and availability varies. 18 plus.

[Instrumental music playing]

I'm Muriel Wilkins and this is Coaching Real Leaders, part of the HBR Podcast Network. I'm a longtime executive coach who works with highly successful leaders who've hit a bump in the road. My job is to help them get over that bump by clarifying their goals and figuring out a way to reach them so that hopefully they can lead with a little more ease. I typically work with clients over the course of several months, but on this show, we have a one-time coaching meeting focusing on a specific leadership challenge they're facing.

[Instrumental music playing]

Today's guest is someone we'll call Jules to protect her confidentiality. She works in tech in a cross-functional operations role and has led a number of teams. She didn't start out in this industry, but she transitioned into it when she made the leap of taking a role that was hugely confidential. She went through the interview process not really knowing what she'd be working on.

I found my way into this industry by accepting a job, a very secret job. They wouldn't tell me what it was, but I thought it was exciting, took the job, and then that actually began my management career. So I was given the opportunity to start managing a team, and really, absolutely loved it. And I really invested a lot in growing my leadership skills. And since then, I've really kind of built my identity and my brand around my ability to grow teams, to grow individuals, to make the teams really gel really well together, feeling a sense of trust and community, as well as feeling like they have a sense of purpose by connecting their work to the bigger picture.

Jules developed a knack for leadership, and in particular, a reputation for leading and growing teams. It's something she became quite experienced in and passionate about since she took that first job and has built her career around it. But times change and companies shift, and as a result, she finds herself in a transition moment.

Our whole department moved to another part of the company, and then my team is currently potentially shrinking. My role is shrinking. However, the leadership has come to me and said, "We recognize you're an amazing leader. We wanna utilize you more. What do you