The Executive Operating System: 5 Tests for Operating at VP Level
People love to tell ambitious leaders to “act like an executive.”
Think more strategically. Be decisive. Own the room. Show more leadership presence.
Useful advice, except for one small problem:
What does an executive actually do differently?
I’ve spent years trying to demystify that question because getting promoted to VP isn’t simply about becoming better at the job you already have.
At some point, senior leaders have to believe they can hand you a meaningful part of the business and trust you to run it.
That requires a different operating system.
If you’re a Director aiming for VP, the question isn’t just whether you’re good at your current job. It’s whether you’re already operating at VP level in the way you think, make decisions, lead through ambiguity, and build an organization that can scale. Senior leaders are looking for evidence that they can trust you with more of the business. These five tests will help you see where you’re already operating at that level and where there may still be gaps.
I was reminded of this recently when I heard Leila Hormozi explain how she evaluates executives for her nine-figure business.
She was speaking as a CEO deciding whom to hire, but I immediately thought about the other side of that decision:
If this is what CEOs need from their executives, what would you need to demonstrate now to prove you can operate at that level?
Because executive behavior often reveals itself long before you have the title.
I saw this recently with two clients.
One had just been promoted to Director and was struggling with a decision he knew some people on his team wouldn’t like.
He wanted to be collaborative, so he asked for feedback. Then more feedback. Eventually, instead of making the decision himself, he let the team decide.
He regretted it almost immediately.
The mistake wasn’t asking for input. Executives absolutely should.
The mistake was confusing collaboration with transferring ownership of the decision.
Compare that with another client who found herself in a meeting that had completely gone off the rails.
People were debating different issues, the conversation kept expanding, and no one seemed capable of landing the plane.
So she stopped the discussion and asked a few simple questions:
What are we actually trying to decide?
What matters most here?
What information do we really need to move forward?
Five minutes later, the meeting ended with a decision.
She didn’t dominate the room or have some brilliant answer nobody else could see.
She created direction when the room needed it.
That is executive behavior.
It’s also a big part of what it means to position yourself for a VP role: showing through your decisions and behavior that you are already operating at the level you want to be promoted into. I explain more about how to position yourself for a VP role here.
And it’s exactly what I mean by having a different operating system.
5 Tests for Operating at VP Level
You don’t need the VP title to start operating at VP level. These five tests will show you where you already are and where your current operating system may still be holding you back.
When There’s No Direction, Do You Create It?
High performers are often exceptional executors.
Give them a goal, and they’ll figure out how to achieve it. Give them a problem, and they’ll solve it. Give them an impossible deadline, and somehow they’ll make it happen.
That skill can take you very far.
But eventually the question changes.
Senior leaders stop asking:
Can this person execute our strategy?
And start asking:
Can this person help create it?
Executives don’t need someone else to consistently define the path before they can move. They look at the business, identify what matters, and form a point of view about what should happen next.
Their internal operating system shifts from:
“Tell me the goal, and I’ll execute.”
to:
“Here’s where I think we need to go, why it matters, and how I recommend we get there.”
That doesn’t mean ignoring your boss or making decisions in a vacuum.
It means bringing clarity instead of waiting for it.
That shift is one of the clearest signs of VP-level leadership: you’re not simply waiting for direction. You’re helping create it.
The test
When something is ambiguous, what do you typically bring to your leadership team?
A question? Or a recommendation?
Gather the information you need, but don’t outsource the thinking.
Bring the first draft of the answer.
That evidence becomes part of the case for why you’re ready for the next level, and I explain more about building strong promotion proof points here.
2. When You Enter the Conversation, Does the Thinking Change?
This may be one of the most overlooked signals of executive readiness.
Executives don’t simply contribute to conversations.
They change them.
They challenge assumptions. They connect things other people haven’t connected. They ask questions that expose the real issue underneath the obvious one.
Leila made a point I loved: you know someone is executive material when you leave the conversation thinking differently than you did when you entered it.
That’s a high bar. And a useful one.
It’s easier to become excellent at adding value to the discussion.
You know the data. You provide context. You answer questions. You explain what your team is doing.
Executives are expected to do something more.
They change the trajectory of the business by changing the quality of the thinking.
That ability to change the quality of the conversation is also part of your executive narrative: the story senior leaders form about how you think, lead, and operate. I explain more about building your executive narrative here.
The test
Think about your last few meetings with senior leaders.
Did you mostly reinforce, explain, and respond?
Or did you introduce a perspective that changed how people saw the problem?
The next time you’re in an important meeting, don’t just ask:
“What can I add?”
Ask:
“What are we not thinking about that we should be?”
One great insight or gap can demonstrate more executive potential than ten minutes of impressive commentary.
3. If Your Scope Doubled Tomorrow, Could Your Organization Handle It?
One of Leila’s most interesting observations was that when a CEO hires an executive, they aren’t really evaluating one person.
They’re evaluating the organization that will exist underneath that person.
A VP isn’t simply responsible for producing great work.
They’re responsible for building an organization capable of producing great work at scale.
That’s a fundamental part of operating at VP level. Your impact has to extend beyond what you can personally accomplish.
This is where strong leaders can accidentally limit themselves.
They know everything. They solve the hardest problems. They’re involved in every important decision. Their teams depend on them.
Which feels valuable.
Until someone considers doubling their scope.
Now their indispensability becomes a liability.
The test
Imagine your CEO doubled your responsibilities tomorrow.
Would your current leadership model stretch? Or snap?
Can your team make strong decisions without waiting for you?
Are you developing people who can take on bigger problems?
Can work keep moving when you’re not in the room?
Your job is not to become the strongest person on the team.
It’s to build a stronger team.
And that means learning to delegate in a way that develops your team while freeing you to operate at a higher level. Here’s how I think about delegating effectively as a leader.
4. When a Problem Repeats, Do You Solve It Again or Redesign the System?
A recurring problem is rarely just a problem.
At executive level, it’s usually a signal that something in the system isn’t working.
Maybe ownership is unclear. The incentives are wrong. The process breaks at scale. Two functions are operating from different assumptions.
Strong executors become excellent at rescuing the business from these problems.
Executives ask why the rescue keeps being necessary.
Because you cannot scale heroics.
If you solve the same problem brilliantly every quarter, congratulations: you have become incredibly efficient at tolerating a broken system.
The test
Look at what keeps landing back on your desk.
What have you already solved more than once?
Instead of asking:
“How do we fix this?”
ask:
“What needs to change so we stop having to fix this?”
Executives don’t just manage the work.
They improve how the business works.
5. Can the Business Succeed Without You?
This is the most counterintuitive test.
High achievers spend years trying to become indispensable.
Executives do the opposite.
Operating at VP level means building enough capability around you that the business can keep moving without your constant involvement.
They build teams, systems, and leaders that make their constant involvement unnecessary.
As Leila puts it:
“The best executives make themselves unnecessary.”
Which sounds slightly terrifying when you’ve spent your career proving how valuable you are.
But executives aren’t paid to protect their current responsibilities.
They’re paid to create the next version of the business.
If you’re still the only person who can make the decisions, maintain the key relationships or solve the complicated problems in your current role, you haven’t created room to take on something bigger.
The test
Ask yourself:
If I disappeared for a month, what would actually break?
Every answer is a clue.
That’s where you may still be operating as the person who keeps the machine running instead of the executive who built a better machine.
Your Next Steps
Go back through the five tests and answer them honestly:
When there is ambiguity, do you create direction?
When you enter the conversation, do you elevate the thinking?
If your scope doubled, could your organization grow with it?
When problems repeat, do you redesign the system?
And as the business becomes stronger, does it become less dependent on you?
You don’t need to master all five at once.
Choose the one where your evidence is weakest and practice it intentionally this week.
Bring the recommendation instead of waiting for direction. Ask the question that changes the conversation. Develop someone to take on more. Fix the system instead of fixing the same problem again.
And when you’re preparing to make the case for your next promotion, your evidence needs to be visible and easy for others to connect to your readiness. I explain how to build your promotion case during a performance review here.
Because becoming an executive isn’t about looking more senior.
It’s about operating at VP level and proving you can be trusted with more of the business.
And that proof starts long before you get the title.
I believe in you, and I’m rooting for you
Maya ❤️
