A common theme exists throughout corporate America that change is constant. Between downsizings, re-organizations, mergers, or growth opportunities, executives tend to be in a new job every 18-36 months. For some, it’s a new role within their current company while for others it is moving into a different company.
In all these situations, there are 6 keys to accelerating your performance in your new role:
1. Understand the Business Situation
Perform a quick SWOT analysis. What is the mission, strategy, and goals of the company and how does your organization support these? Are you in a turn-around, maintain or growth situation?
2. Clearly understand yourself and your role and expectations
Self-awareness of your strengths and weaknesses is an important foundation. Make sure you and your boss are in total agreement as to your role and what defines success.
3. Assess key people, processes and culture. Get to know your team and their strengths and weaknesses
Move out underperformers. Know which of your peers are critical to your success and focus on building a strong relationship with them. Not all peers are created equal! Understand how decisions are made, and who the influencers and the “real” decision-makers are. Understand key processes for how your team gets its work done.
4. Clarify your organization’s strategy and identify top priorities
One of the most common downfalls is trying to do too many things. Identifying top priorities that put your strategy into action, but are also appropriate for the situation is critical to success. Identify what the team can stop doing, at least for a short time period, in order to focus on the top priorities. Then communicate, communicate, communicate to all stakeholders.
5. Align resources with top priorities
Leverage the strengths of your team and put enough resources behind these top priorities. Maintain focus – spend the bulk of your time and the team’s time on these action items. Set metrics, define and communicate success.
6. Phase in plan with small, early wins
Look for milestones that are perceived as wins by your boss. Carve up the larger priorities into smaller steps and implement to achieve these smaller steps. Celebrate and communicate these early milestone achievements.
Putting these six steps into action will not necessarily guarantee success, but they will certainly improve the probability of you jumping out to a strong start. And it is certainly far more likely to build a strong reputation from positive, rather than negative, early impressions of your leadership capabilities. Please keep us in mind if we can assist you or others you may know through a job transition with our coaching services.
Joni Lindquist, MBA, CFP®, is a Principal at Aspyre Wealth Partners, specializing in Financial Planning and Executive/Career Coaching. For help with your specific situation contact Joni Lindquist at jlindquist@aspyrewealth.com, (913) 345-1881 or visit our website at AspyreWealth.com. We help successful people Master What’s Next® – whatever phase of life they are in.
Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash