Adapting to a personal change
Action
Access a coach who can help you address issues related to leadership transition. The focus is on actions to help the transition.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Make sure coaching work remains focused on real progress and not just 'feel good' sessions.
The agenda must match your situation and level. For example, the agenda of a supervisor is different to a CEO. Likewise, the issues are different if you are working in a functional area you are unfamiliar with.
Access a coach who can help you address issues related to leadership transition. The focus is on actions to help the transition.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Make sure coaching work remains focused on real progress and not just 'feel good' sessions.
The agenda must match your situation and level. For example, the agenda of a supervisor is different to a CEO. Likewise, the issues are different if you are working in a functional area you are unfamiliar with.
Action
Avoid isolation (the 'lone ranger' syndrome) which is a real transition killer. Find trustworthy people you can meet with who understand leadership and the organisation.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Avoid a 'folie a deux', that is, a relationship where you reinforce each other's delusions. Find people who can safely challenge you.
It is important that your key relationships help you focus on your situation, as it really is. While emotional support is important, collusion that lets you avoid issues will undermine your viability as a leader. As such, not only must you have people who can be realistic, informed and honest, you must ensure you can manage yourself, willing to put aside your own assumptions if they don't match the facts.
Avoid isolation (the 'lone ranger' syndrome) which is a real transition killer. Find trustworthy people you can meet with who understand leadership and the organisation.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Avoid a 'folie a deux', that is, a relationship where you reinforce each other's delusions. Find people who can safely challenge you.
It is important that your key relationships help you focus on your situation, as it really is. While emotional support is important, collusion that lets you avoid issues will undermine your viability as a leader. As such, not only must you have people who can be realistic, informed and honest, you must ensure you can manage yourself, willing to put aside your own assumptions if they don't match the facts.
Action
Develop a structured approach to your transition, identifying aspects of your new role that are new or uncomfortable.
You can use the themes used here to help you to do this. Build them into your own project and task planning style, setting goals and tracking your progress.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Review the plan over the period so that your experience can make sure critical areas were not overlooked. A structured plan increases the likelihood of success, and vice versa.
Develop a structured approach to your transition, identifying aspects of your new role that are new or uncomfortable.
You can use the themes used here to help you to do this. Build them into your own project and task planning style, setting goals and tracking your progress.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Review the plan over the period so that your experience can make sure critical areas were not overlooked. A structured plan increases the likelihood of success, and vice versa.
Action
Make sure your personal needs and professional support are being cared for so you can focus on the transition and the job. Think about your personality and working style, including how you process information, use thinking and writing time and interact with visitors. The way your predecessor set up the work space might not match your way of doing things.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
It can feel like a balancing act between avoiding the perception of feathering your own nest and living 'poor' and undermining your effectiveness. Remember, your job as leader is to help everyone succeed at doing what the organisation needs. If you go down you can't help others. Your personal wellbeing is important.
Make sure your personal needs and professional support are being cared for so you can focus on the transition and the job. Think about your personality and working style, including how you process information, use thinking and writing time and interact with visitors. The way your predecessor set up the work space might not match your way of doing things.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
It can feel like a balancing act between avoiding the perception of feathering your own nest and living 'poor' and undermining your effectiveness. Remember, your job as leader is to help everyone succeed at doing what the organisation needs. If you go down you can't help others. Your personal wellbeing is important.
Action
Identify your leadership style with its strengths and weaknesses. Address how this matches the styles of your team, peers and boss. Talk with them about your style and their expectations. The goal is to use a style that works for you and brings out the best in them.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Neglect of various leadership competencies or responsibilities can undermine your effectiveness and that of your business. It is important to ensure you can address the full range of leadership responsibilities. The Performance Panel can help you do this in a systematic way.
A significant pitfall is to rely on your past strengths that worked in previous roles. They may be relevant here but make sure you don't neglect building strengths that this role needs (cf. the next item).
Identify your leadership style with its strengths and weaknesses. Address how this matches the styles of your team, peers and boss. Talk with them about your style and their expectations. The goal is to use a style that works for you and brings out the best in them.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Neglect of various leadership competencies or responsibilities can undermine your effectiveness and that of your business. It is important to ensure you can address the full range of leadership responsibilities. The Performance Panel can help you do this in a systematic way.
A significant pitfall is to rely on your past strengths that worked in previous roles. They may be relevant here but make sure you don't neglect building strengths that this role needs (cf. the next item).
Action
Do not assume what worked in past roles will work here. Identify what strengths and skills you relied on in past roles and map out the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in this role. This includes understanding current business, customer, stakeholder and sector issues and trends.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Early in the transition you rely on what you already know. This has to evolve into a learning pattern to understand the business and its needs better.
Leadership transition is an intense learning process that extends out for the first 15 months. Keep taking stock of what you are learning about yourself, the organisation, your team, boss, technical and functional issues as wells as customers and stakeholders. In difficult business situations this learning has to be intensified as you may not have much time to create the changes needed to help the business.
Do not assume what worked in past roles will work here. Identify what strengths and skills you relied on in past roles and map out the skills and knowledge you will need to succeed in this role. This includes understanding current business, customer, stakeholder and sector issues and trends.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Early in the transition you rely on what you already know. This has to evolve into a learning pattern to understand the business and its needs better.
Leadership transition is an intense learning process that extends out for the first 15 months. Keep taking stock of what you are learning about yourself, the organisation, your team, boss, technical and functional issues as wells as customers and stakeholders. In difficult business situations this learning has to be intensified as you may not have much time to create the changes needed to help the business.
Action
Since transitions are intense periods, make sure you are attending to the important relationships in your personal and professional life, as well as making sure you look after your personal health, physical and mental. Look for opportunities to establish long term patterns that will continue in a healthy way after the transition.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
In a transition people expect to put in extra time and effort. Make sure there is an sunset strategy for this period so it doesn't exclude other parts of your life and the opportunity for people in your team to take responsibility. Remember the transition extends over a couple of years with some very intense phases. You need some done time along the way.
If you find you can only do the role by putting in excessive hours to the neglect of other parts of your life that you value then you must seriously examine how you are going about things, whether this is your niche or whether you understand what it is that you really value.
Since transitions are intense periods, make sure you are attending to the important relationships in your personal and professional life, as well as making sure you look after your personal health, physical and mental. Look for opportunities to establish long term patterns that will continue in a healthy way after the transition.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
In a transition people expect to put in extra time and effort. Make sure there is an sunset strategy for this period so it doesn't exclude other parts of your life and the opportunity for people in your team to take responsibility. Remember the transition extends over a couple of years with some very intense phases. You need some done time along the way.
If you find you can only do the role by putting in excessive hours to the neglect of other parts of your life that you value then you must seriously examine how you are going about things, whether this is your niche or whether you understand what it is that you really value.
Action
Prepare for the typical dips in emotions and motivation. These often occur in the 1st month, somewhere during 3rd to 6th months, and around 9th month. Of course the timing and number can vary. Ensure you have strategies and key relationships to support you and do reality checks when it feels too much.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Be ready for the fact that facing new issues in an unfamiliar role can unsettle the confidence and control you are used to in successful past roles. Make sure you have processes to avoid rash decisions during the down times.
The emotional down times can get worse as they proceed, before letting up after around nine months. At times it is tempting to bail out and get a new role. Keep in mind, you may be reacting to a temporary down time. Also, if you take on a new leadership role, the emotional journey starts again. If you find the emotional demands are unrelenting, draw on your support people and consider accessing professional support, with their experience and strategies.
Prepare for the typical dips in emotions and motivation. These often occur in the 1st month, somewhere during 3rd to 6th months, and around 9th month. Of course the timing and number can vary. Ensure you have strategies and key relationships to support you and do reality checks when it feels too much.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Be ready for the fact that facing new issues in an unfamiliar role can unsettle the confidence and control you are used to in successful past roles. Make sure you have processes to avoid rash decisions during the down times.
The emotional down times can get worse as they proceed, before letting up after around nine months. At times it is tempting to bail out and get a new role. Keep in mind, you may be reacting to a temporary down time. Also, if you take on a new leadership role, the emotional journey starts again. If you find the emotional demands are unrelenting, draw on your support people and consider accessing professional support, with their experience and strategies.
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