Be cautious of extrapolating from today's situation. Aiming for progressively higher levels of your current goal may work for a while, but today everyone must consider the potential annihilation of the existing business by some external force.

Keep your finger on the pulse. New leaders often question how they can gauge whether things are moving in the right direction in their organization if they are not personally involved at the transaction level. There are lots of ways to keep one's finger on the pulse of the organization.

One of my clients has a "top two" meeting every Monday morning by phone. Each staff member briefly describes his or her top two priorities. This promotes shared communication and crisp identification of the hot items. Extended stays in the top two may indicate where there are problems that need high-level intervention. Develop critical indexes, such as customer satisfaction measures, return on assets or productivity, that will allow you to manage in the aggregate.

Focus on what's important. Make sure the organization also has an effective process for setting priorities. Boiling things down to the vital few initiatives enables you to avoid the overreaching that is so common in resource-strapped companies. Rigorous priority-setting is always difficult, particularly when you have to say "no" to a business unit or customer. But with the appropriate rationale, the rigour at the front end is less painful than the multiple failures at the back end.

Treat time as the enemy. Does your day drive you or do you drive your day? It is possible to contain the hours but you must take control of your time. Set limits and stick to them. Be sure your assistant knows the boundaries for putting something on your calendar, so that your day is not eaten up with transactional decisions. Be sure to allot an appropriate amount of time to big-picture leadership. Don't allow yourself to drop back into the old mode.

Look to the future. Initial discomfort with the struggle to break through the transactional level can lead to regressing. I loved the excitement of working with the field organizations. When I was promoted to a corporate position, it seemed more stilted. I felt as though everyone whispered in the halls. I missed the shouts of joy from the field.

It took some time and some persistence, along with the support of my mentors, to find the fun that lies in setting the direction for others to follow. I disciplined myself to move forward and not let the memories of the past pull me back. Now the strategy role is my favourite part of work.

Once you've moved past the transactional level you can reap the very real rewards. You will see the benefit of being able to leverage more than just your personal skill set.

* You will become a role model for your people, helping them to learn how to make a similar transition.

* Your contribution to the business will be enhanced.

* You will demonstrate your readiness for the next level.

* You will leave a sustainable organization - one that will be able to pursue its mission and goals long after you have moved on to your next opportunity.

The old saying goes: "It's what you learn after you know it all that counts." To succeed at a higher level, let go of your old job.

Before retiring in 1999, Patricia Wallington was corporate vice president and CIO at Xerox. She is now president of Florida-based CIO Associates