Michael Watkins gave a live presentation to ca. 56K viewers on the Harvard Business Review Facebook Page as part of their Whiteboard Sessions Series. The 40-minute session was entitled, “How to Get Up to Speed in Your New Leadership Role" and focused on the following three key areas in the context of a new hire joining an organization from the outside:
Drawing on the concepts and framework originally outlined in The First 90 Days, viewers were treated to a First 90 Days Master Class from the best-selling author, Co-Founder of Genesis, and Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at the IMD Business School.
Following is a summary of the presentation with a link to the recording provided below.
More than a quarter of leaders in fortune 500 companies are transitioning into new roles in any given year and yet nobody seems to understand the dynamics involved in taking a new role, the traps that confound leaders as they onboard, and what they can do to get up to speed faster. Years of research and practical experience have led me to the conclusion that it is fundamentally about the learning process and the kinds of learning leaders need to do, but don’t do effectively—technical learning, cultural learning and political learning.
Technical learning is about getting up to speed with products, markets, technologies, systems of organization, etc. Few leaders fail for not having grasped the technical aspects of their new role.
It’s in the cultural and political learning domains—the subtle areas of the learning process—where problems arise. The subtle norms and values that inform the organizational culture are critical. Oftentimes, leaders are shocked to find that there is a different set of norms and values at a new organization and can be thrown by this.
In terms of political learning, consider that when you join a new organization you leave behind the networks, connections and relationships that made you effective in your previous role. The wiring—that set of equities and relationship bank accounts—is no longer there and needs to be built from scratch in the context of a new cultural environment.
The tendency to operate exclusively in the vertical relationships sphere—focusing energy on colleagues above and below—at the expense of the lateral. New leaders often underestimate the value of peer relationships and the role they play in helping you get things done. You don’t want to meet your neighbors in the middle of the night when your house is burning down, is an analogy that illustrates this common trap.
Understanding the subtle norms and values about how things get done in the organization is critical to your success. If you don’t pick up on these rapidly, you can bruise colleagues and get into downward relationship spirals.
Leaders often over promise and under deliver. Recruiting is like romance and employment is like marriage, so you need to make sure you don’t set unrealistic expectations at the outset.
Starting a new role at a new organization is like drinking from a fire house, and one common trap leaders fall into is trying to do too much. We call it the action imperative and the reality of this trap is that you don’t focus, you over extend yourself, and you don’t achieve anything meaningful.
The skills that made you successful at your previous job, will not ensure success in the new role. The tendency to stay in your comfort zone hinders your ability to adapt to the new challenges you face in the new organization.
Often leaders reach conclusions prematurely about what the organization needs. In so doing, they create an organizational immune system reaction. So being careful not to create the impression that you have the answer to problems people have grappled with for a long time is one of those subtle yet critical traps you need to be careful to avoid.
There is inevitably a jockeying that happens when a new leader joins an organization. The new leader needs to be studiously neutral with regard to the political structure of the organization until you are really clear about what alliances you need to build.
Q: What % of effort should you invest among the three dimensions — technical, cultural and political?
A: It very much depends on the level and the organization. For example, a manager may focus more on technical issues, whereas a more senior hire should focus more time on cultural and political dimensions.
Q: How do you set the correct timeframe when the new organization expects you to perform and have an impact in first 60-90 days?
A: Negotiate timeframes up front, and critically do not succumb to self-inflicted pressure to perform — an internal expectation to get things done. The time frames very much depend on your situation. For example, coming into a crisis is different from coming into a successful organization. In the case of the latter, you need only demonstrate that you are getting up to speed and fitting in with the organization, whereas the former requires a plan-and-execute approach. There’s not a “one-size-fits-all” answer.
Q: When you are new to a leadership role, is it better to work to make changes while you have new person momentum, or just focus on learning?
A: Again, it depends on the situation you are in (see our STARS Model). And once you have analyzed and identified the situation you are in, you can decide whether you need a plan-and-execute versus a learning and adapting modality.
Watch the recording of the entire live presentation.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Harvard Business Review team for making this live Facebook presentation possible.