Leadership: 100 Days of Scrutiny
From the Pharmaceutical Executive, January 2006
- by Sander A. Flaum & Jonathon Flaum
By "Did he put his napkin on his lap? Did she know which one is the salad fork? Was he rude to the waiter? The answers to these questions may not be all that important in the great scheme of things. But on a first date, they are all we have to go on as we take the measure of a person who may have tremendous impact on our lives.
The first 100 days for a new leader of an organization can feel just as tense as a first date. Margaret Exley, the UK chairman of Mercer Delta, in a paper entitled 'First 100 Days: The New CEO's Challenge,' wrote, 'Your formal decisions, informal behavior, and symbolic acts will be closely scrutinized by everyone with an interest in your company: employees, customers, shareholders, investors, and competitors. Everything you do and say will send messages, set tone, establish expectations, and communicate directions for the new leadership group.'
The question for me is how can leaders use this period of intense scrutiny as an opportunity to connect with their organizations' people, stakeholders, and customers? And further, how can leaders set the course for a new purposeful direction (that their hiring probably demands) without alienating a group that may have grown attached to the comforts of the status quo? These are complicated questions, and to deal with them I have identified five tried-and-true practices that help the transition be not only smooth but also transformative.
#1 Listen first, talk second
Most people feel that the best conversations are the ones in which they are truly heard. So get out of your nice new office and go sit with your direct reports. Sit with them in their spaces, over lunch or over coffee - anyplace but your space. You want them to be completely comfortable. Ask them what they like and don't"
Read the rest of the article ....
- by Sander A. Flaum & Jonathon Flaum
By "Did he put his napkin on his lap? Did she know which one is the salad fork? Was he rude to the waiter? The answers to these questions may not be all that important in the great scheme of things. But on a first date, they are all we have to go on as we take the measure of a person who may have tremendous impact on our lives.
The first 100 days for a new leader of an organization can feel just as tense as a first date. Margaret Exley, the UK chairman of Mercer Delta, in a paper entitled 'First 100 Days: The New CEO's Challenge,' wrote, 'Your formal decisions, informal behavior, and symbolic acts will be closely scrutinized by everyone with an interest in your company: employees, customers, shareholders, investors, and competitors. Everything you do and say will send messages, set tone, establish expectations, and communicate directions for the new leadership group.'
The question for me is how can leaders use this period of intense scrutiny as an opportunity to connect with their organizations' people, stakeholders, and customers? And further, how can leaders set the course for a new purposeful direction (that their hiring probably demands) without alienating a group that may have grown attached to the comforts of the status quo? These are complicated questions, and to deal with them I have identified five tried-and-true practices that help the transition be not only smooth but also transformative.
#1 Listen first, talk second
Most people feel that the best conversations are the ones in which they are truly heard. So get out of your nice new office and go sit with your direct reports. Sit with them in their spaces, over lunch or over coffee - anyplace but your space. You want them to be completely comfortable. Ask them what they like and don't"
Read the rest of the article ....
posted by mick yates @ 1:42 PM permalink
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