Path to Executive with Philippe Mesritz

In this episode, Neal Travis sits down with Philippe Mesritz to explore what it really takes to grow from an individual contributor to executive leadership. They unpack the mental shifts, strategy, influence, and skill-building that are often missing from traditional support career paths — and share practical insights to help anyone navigating the path to director, VP, or beyond.

Key Topics Discussed

1. The Perspective Shift at Each Leadership Level

As you move from manager to director to VP and beyond, your view — and your responsibilities — expand significantly.

“Managers look at the day, Directors look at the week and the month, VPs look at the quarter and the years, and beyond looks at the 3 to 5 to 10 year strategy.”

Philippe breaks down how scope, planning horizon, and priorities change across roles, especially depending on company size.

Insights on how strategic thinking grows as you rise in leadership.

2. Language and Context Switching

Communicating effectively means speaking the right language for the right audience.

“The language of leadership is that same scenario. It's different.”

Philippe explains how switching between operational and strategic contexts isn’t just hard — it’s like changing languages. Leaders need to deliberately shift their vocabulary, time blocks, and expectations based on who they’re talking to.

Real advice on how to balance strategy and frontline coaching.

3. Influence vs. Control

Managers control. Executives influence.

“The higher you go, the less control you have. You have to influence and coach managers to help coach others.”

Philippe shares his framework — Measure, Align, Present, Support (MAPS) — for building influence and driving organizational change.

Why learning to influence cross-functionally is essential to leading at scale.

4. Managing Managers and Developing New Skills

You can’t always get hands-on experience managing managers before you’re promoted, so Philippe recommends:

“Get a mentor who’s outside your company, someone who’s been there. Roleplay, get coaching, and practice decision-making.”

Neal and Philippe also explore the subtle but critical differences between managing a team and growing leaders.

Practical ways to prepare for leadership jumps even without direct experience.

5. What Makes the Transition to VP So Hard

Some promotions are harder than others.

“Director to VP is one of the hardest jumps… you’re no longer hands-on. Your job is to drive strategy and remove roadblocks.”

They talk about how transitions change — from tactical to strategic focus, and from visibility to executive exposure. Philippe also shares how to earn support from across the org when aiming for VP or C-level roles.
How performance, image, and exposure all factor into promotions.

Memorable Quotes

“The fallacy of control — the higher you go, the less control you actually have.”
“Your performance matters, but it’s binary. You’re either good enough — or not.”
“Most people that get promoted have helped someone else succeed in their role.”
“What worked 10 years ago might not work today. Learn, unlearn, and learn again.”

Takeaways

• Understand what each level actually requires: Think in longer timeframes and broader scope as you move up.

• Speak the right language: Strategy and ops require different vocabularies. Block your time intentionally.

• Grow influence, not control: Use frameworks like MAPS to align stakeholders and move things forward.

• Find alternative ways to develop experience: Volunteer, roleplay with mentors, and find cross-functional visibility.

• Performance gets you in the room — exposure gets you the promotion: Managing up and diagonally matters more than you think.