How business conditions affect transition
Action
Assess the status of the business so you can assess what its priorities are. Use this to plan the time frame for you transition, what you expect from people and the level of change that needs to be put in place.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Mismatching leadership priorities and decisions to business realities can lead to business deterioration and negative consequences for everyone, as well as for your career. In general, a business that's in trouble requires a shorter timeframe for action than a business that is continuing success.
Assess the status of the business so you can assess what its priorities are. Use this to plan the time frame for you transition, what you expect from people and the level of change that needs to be put in place.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Mismatching leadership priorities and decisions to business realities can lead to business deterioration and negative consequences for everyone, as well as for your career. In general, a business that's in trouble requires a shorter timeframe for action than a business that is continuing success.
Action
Spend time with your boss clarifying the priorities, results and methods that are expected of you. Make sure you focus on these priorities and know what it is you must deliver and will be evaluated on. Look for clear, measurable outcomes that can be factored into your business, monitored and measured.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
People in organisations typically look at what you deliver as well as how you go about it when they evaluate you and decide whether to trust and invest in you. Make sure you cover both in your conversations about expectations. Focusing too much on the functional requirements may be a trap if you find out later that you were evaluated on your style, fit and values.
Spend time with your boss clarifying the priorities, results and methods that are expected of you. Make sure you focus on these priorities and know what it is you must deliver and will be evaluated on. Look for clear, measurable outcomes that can be factored into your business, monitored and measured.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
People in organisations typically look at what you deliver as well as how you go about it when they evaluate you and decide whether to trust and invest in you. Make sure you cover both in your conversations about expectations. Focusing too much on the functional requirements may be a trap if you find out later that you were evaluated on your style, fit and values.
Action
Set up reliable processes to get critical information to you. Identify people who provide reliable, useful information. Be wary of people who try to influence you to satisfy their old, unresolved agendas. Keep in mind, though, that some unresolved issues may indicate current risks you need to address.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Make sure people learn quickly to feel safe talking to you, regardless of the content of the conversation. If people think you avoid bad news then they will self-censor and avoid warning you of the 'predictable surprises' that could undermine your business and career.
Remember that organisational politices, personal ambition and the desire to be accepted by you as the new leader can all lead people to skew information, even hard, quantitative data, so they can make a good impression, or even manipulate you into their faction.
Set up reliable processes to get critical information to you. Identify people who provide reliable, useful information. Be wary of people who try to influence you to satisfy their old, unresolved agendas. Keep in mind, though, that some unresolved issues may indicate current risks you need to address.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Make sure people learn quickly to feel safe talking to you, regardless of the content of the conversation. If people think you avoid bad news then they will self-censor and avoid warning you of the 'predictable surprises' that could undermine your business and career.
Remember that organisational politices, personal ambition and the desire to be accepted by you as the new leader can all lead people to skew information, even hard, quantitative data, so they can make a good impression, or even manipulate you into their faction.
Action
Businesses with documented strategies and plans tend to out perform those without. Build your strategy for how you will meet expectations and get results. Involve your stakeholders (boss, peers, staff, customers and influencers) to ensure you get a workable strategy. Ensure the strategy has achievable goals linked to practical steps and ways to track progress.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Initial strategies are heavily influenced by what you already know. In 12-18 months you will probably want to implement more far reaching changes based on the deeper business understanding you will acquire.
Businesses with documented strategies and plans tend to out perform those without. Build your strategy for how you will meet expectations and get results. Involve your stakeholders (boss, peers, staff, customers and influencers) to ensure you get a workable strategy. Ensure the strategy has achievable goals linked to practical steps and ways to track progress.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
Initial strategies are heavily influenced by what you already know. In 12-18 months you will probably want to implement more far reaching changes based on the deeper business understanding you will acquire.
Action
Quick wins are important to build people's confidence in your leadership. These are results or milestones that show you can achieve things with the people and resources available to you.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
You are being monitored by people who are keen to check whether you are valuable in your new role. Most of the time people will give you a honeymoon period, understanding you have to settle into the role. But, depending on the urgency of business conditions or the politics around your appointment, you may have to get results quickly.
Quick wins are not random result. They are intended to build confidence in your ability to encourage people to commit to you and cooperate with you into the future. You can probably do some of these in the first couple of months by tranplanting solutions to problems that you saw work effectively in your previous roles. Be careful to make sure they fit the new environment. Even seasoned executives can grasp at old solutions that don't fit their current situation.
Quick wins are important to build people's confidence in your leadership. These are results or milestones that show you can achieve things with the people and resources available to you.
Risks/Opportunities/Surprises
You are being monitored by people who are keen to check whether you are valuable in your new role. Most of the time people will give you a honeymoon period, understanding you have to settle into the role. But, depending on the urgency of business conditions or the politics around your appointment, you may have to get results quickly.
Quick wins are not random result. They are intended to build confidence in your ability to encourage people to commit to you and cooperate with you into the future. You can probably do some of these in the first couple of months by tranplanting solutions to problems that you saw work effectively in your previous roles. Be careful to make sure they fit the new environment. Even seasoned executives can grasp at old solutions that don't fit their current situation.
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