Yahoo has a new 37-year-old female CEO.
The media has marveled at Marissa Mayer, this Stanford grad from Google who accepted her new position three months before the due date of her first child. Like many other women, I cheered her selection for too many reasons to count. But, it was a single quote from her that made me think the most.
“I like to get myself in over my head,” she said. Over my head, this turned upside down into a desirable experience.
This may be a match made in heaven as Yahoo desperately needs a makeover with second quarter revenue down and an ongoing struggle to define who they are. Yahoo is not only ripe for reinvention, but it appears essential. And Marissa Mayer, who shaped the look and feel of Google products, has her wish for the next major challenge.
In our work of talent planning and developing future leaders, how often do we value putting someone in “over their head?” I’ve never heard those words spoken as a desired outcome in countless performance, talent and succession discussions.
In fact, many organizations have criteria that expect a promotion candidate to be fully functioning at the next level before the promotion even occurs. I have even advocated for this myself. The Center for Creative Leadership Study on “The Realities of Management Promotion“ found that readiness was the number one criteria for promotion decisions.
But, is that always the right answer?
There are a few situations when being ‘in over your head’ may have merit:
In the coming months we’ll discuss CEO maternity leave and Mayer’s role as a trailblazer in a new generation of leaders. But, given what we do for a living, let’s reconsider how we view being “in over your head.” It might just be just the right move.
This was originally published on PeopleResult’s Current blog.
