What We Have Missed In Our “Leadership Training” — First, THINK DIFFERENT; LEAPFROG; BE FEARLESS

Now is the time for more personal strategic planning.  Your planning should be for several phases:

• Pre- Day 1 of Employment
• The First 30 Days
• The Second 30 Days
• The Third 30 Days

Let me provide you with some tactics and some strategies.

Pre-Day One

You should have gotten signals whether you are in a start up situation, a turnaround situation, or a realignment.  If you don’t have a sense, you need to do some due diligence.

1. What do you know about the job you’ve taken?  What do you need to know?
2. What do you know about your boss?  What do you need to know?
3. What do you know about your colleagues?  What do you need to know?
4. What do you know about your staff?  What do you need to know?
5. What do you know about your stakeholders (do you even know the key stakeholders)?  What do you need to know?
6. What about the strategy of the Company?  Does the Strategy fit with your own analysis of the environment and the competition?

Do NOT feel shy about reaching out to people prior to your first day.  Most people are flattered.  Handle it like this, “Hi, I’m Craig, and I’m going to be the new head of X starting soon.  I know you are key to the success of my new position.  What do you think I should know going into my first day?

Then use the discussion to start to fill in some of the blanks in the areas where your own knowledge of the situation is shaky.

First Thirty Days

The impulse of any executive is to jump into making a decision in the first 30 days.  Restrain yourself.  Use the first 30 days to continue to assess people, stakeholders, processes, etc.  Try to uncover any performance problems within your staff.  Here is set of questions that I have found to be helpful.

1. What do you do in the organization?
2. How do you do it (with which people, using which processes, etc.)?  How do you know when you are successful?
3. Who is the key person, your “go to” person, in my organization?

Do not get personally involved with any particular person during this phase.  Be careful not to make promises or even to imply promises.

From your complete analysis, begin to develop a mission and a draft organization chart (which may have similarities to your current chart).  Use the knowledge you have gained by talking to your boss about key concerns and talking to others about process challenges to help you.  Also, examine the organization charts of other companies.  Talk with your Advisory Board about your thoughts.  Definitely involve your boss.

Begin to identify the “keepers” in your organization and how they fit into the organization.  If someone does not know the answer to number 1 or 2 above, they are probably NOT keepers.

Identify a challenge that must be addressed quickly for your organization to be successful.  George Bradt calls this your “burning imperative.”

Second Thirty Days

Develop a clear communication about your new mission, your new processes, your new organization chart and your new people.  Focus on your burning imperative.  This will be your “stump speech”  — you will repeat it EVERY chance you get.

Use your stump speech to explain the rationale for any changes you need to make (especially changes in people).  Move fast during this phase to layoff those who will not fit into your new organization.

Before you make a move, get approval from your boss and get help from Human Resources.  This is where a good human resources professional can make a difference.

Final Thirty Days

Act on your “Burning Imperative” and make the changes you need to be successful. Pull your team together to have a team building session (use an outside facilitator) to make sure everyone is behind the mission.  Invite your boss (or key stakeholders) to show their support for your mission and implementation of your burning imperative.

Use the Team Building session to develop a plan to created sustainable value-add differentiators for your group.  Have your team identify the new core competencies that are going to be needed to go forward.  Develop agreed upon Ground Rules such as, no one will come to you to talk trash about a colleague.  No one will come to you with a problem, without a solution.  Develop a “zero surprises” rule.  There are others that your staff will want to add.

Document everything in an “Action Plan” and assign appropriate actions to your staff.  Use your staff meetings (Start doing weekly staff meetings) to address the progress on these plans.  Start having regular one-on-ones with your direct reports.  (At these sessions you should push to get the truth – the early warning signs that there may be problems in an area.)

Have your 90-day review with your boss and go in ready to talk about what you have accomplished.  Listen carefully for any advice s/he may provide you.

Spend time building your key alliances… you are on your way.

A recent Harvard Business Review article caught my attention.  And it will catch your attention, if you are in need of managing your transition time between career posts.

The article, “Solve the Succession Crisis by Growing Inside-Outside Leaders” by Joseph L. Bower (reprint R0711E) states that “the most effective CEOs…are those who are developed within the company –but manage to retain an outside perspective.”

Bower suggests four tactics that can enhance career movement for internal executives.  I find that these steps are also very useful when you are considering a new career move and are outside of a formal organization.

Here is an adaption of Bower’s steps tailored to executives in transition.

First, when in transition, look for companies that have career paths and that understand that career growth comes from more than just going for a week of training.  An excellent company will talk to you about mentoring, challenging assignments, profit/loss responsibility – all of which are great ways for you to find ways to grow in a company.

Try to identify 20 of those companies as targets for your job search.

Second, use your transition time to find senior managers who you can talk with about industry organizational challenges, so you will keep up with rapid industry changes and develop new, innovative strategies to address issues.  Read and learn as much as you can.  Find seminars that will expand your thought processes into different directions.

Identify at least 30 executives with whom you would like to work.

Third, use your transition time to network with the 30 people mentioned above and expand your network to include your former customers, vendors, senior people in your industry association, etc. (Remember that good networking involves a “give-give” relationship.)

Fourth, get feedback from trusted advisors, friends and colleagues.  These are the people who know you best, know how you need to “polish” your interpersonal and business skills.  During transition, you have time to practice some new behaviors that may lead to success in your next position.

Although your transition time may be an anxious time for you, in some executives the transition is an adventure that leads to career growth.

Give these steps a try.  It may make the transition more pleasurable and it is definitely (according to Bower) something you should keep up once you land inside a company.

One of my best sources of new ideas is Jeanne Hartley’s Quarterly Salon.

At Jeanne’s last Salon, Bev Kaye (a noted career expert) asked us if anyone knew anything about “whining” in an organization.  You know what she means. Almost all employees whine by making snarky little comments about their organization.  (Why don’t we have clean break rooms? Why doesn’t anyone listen to me?  Why do we have to do things this way?)  We have all heard grumbles, and in all probability, we have been grumblers at one point or another.

Just as I was about to discard the idea of grumbling as endemic to organizations, Jeanne insightfully talked about two categories of grumbles:  the grumbles and the meta-grumbles.

I saw immediate value of this categorization to those in a career search.

Jeanne cited Maslow (of Maslow’s hierarchy fame):

Grumbles are complaints about relatively small matters… Meta-grumbles, on the other hand, are complaints about such things as lack of clarity about goals, people needing to have more autonomy in carrying out their assignments, or expressing a desire for greater teamwork and collaboration. These complaints are about broader organizational concerns.

In an organization, the meta-grumbles are signals of deeper issues in the organization.

What does grumbling in organizations have to do with your career?

Well, grumbling also occurs on an individual level during a job search. In my experience, grumbling reaches a peak at the interview stage where you are negotiating everything. And meta-grumbles need to be taken as strong signals that you might want to wait for another job offer.

Let me give you an example. I have a client– let’s call him Peter — who took the first job offer that came his way. During the interview stage, Peter grumbled that the large Company was too long a commute from his home, that he didn’t like the title, that he didn’t like his proposed office, all things that as his career coach, I thought were not deal-breakers.

But Peter did have a meta-grumble.

He did not want to work in a company that did not understand how his work would fit into their mission and values.

Because of extenuating circumstances, Peter took the job – despite the meta-grumble.

Less than 30 days into the new job, Peter called me to tell me that a chance meeting with the CEO of a small Company had led to a job offer. Peter was going to “jump ship” to the mission-driven smaller Company.

Listen carefully to your meta -grumbles during a career transition.  You may not always be able to act on them (life intervenes!) but they are always a signal that the new job may not be right for you.

During my first semester teaching the Communication 101 class at Loyola Marymount University, I had a student with a tendency not to attend classes.  Let’s call him John.

Usually, this would not be a big deal, but John also had not turned in his mid term paper.  This IS a big deal.

So, I set up the usual “Come to my office and explain” meeting with John.

Now, I’m not sure what had been happening to John, but when he came to my office, he came bearing the gift of a lengthy, disjointed, almost unreadable paper about the trite topic “The Importance of Good Communication.”  I was reading the paper (inwardly groaning) when I found on page 3 a nugget of pure genius.  John had written, “The narrative is inherently persuasive.”  That was not in the textbook, and it certainly had not been in my lectures – so John had picked this up somewhere else (not footnoted to be sure).  So, I asked, in my most scholarly tone, “What does this mean, John?”

John looked at me incredulously and said, “When I tell a story people believe me – and that makes them like me.”

John got a pass on the paper – and (as he finally roused himself to attend a sprinkling of class sessions)  — he passed the class.   He had found the secret to compelling, engaging communication.  The secret is to tell a story.

John’s insight is an important nugget for all people on a career search.  As John said, when you tell a story – openly, honestly, clearly, with a character that overcomes all obstacles to reach a conclusion – you are generally perceived as being “real” and likeable.

All that you write about yourself, all the “branding,” the “flyers,” the resume, your interview – everything should be told written as a story (or a collection of stories), because a story brings the audience (or interviewer/potential boss) into the unfolding events and gets them to see you as the central player in meeting a challenge based in the business world.

Just stating accomplishments is pretty good, but telling the story of how you achieved your accomplishments is darn well compelling.

Your personal narrative – if told with your eyes on your audience – will be inherently persuasive.  And, with some luck, your interviewer will see the your strength and competence, and give you the job you deserve.

Interviewing for a new position is all about story telling.

From the first question (usually, “Tell me a little about yourself”) to the last (“What are your salary requirements?”) as someone in a career search you need to consider questions as a way to entice the interviewer to get involved in your  “career story.”

With most executives, the challenge is to figure out what story to tell.

In order to help you as you are building your career story, here are a few tips:

1. Just like a good yarn, your story should have a clear plot line.  Make sure that you can explain why you moved from one position to another in the past.

Practice talking through the “plot” of your career until you feel very comfortable with it.  Don’t stumble by lingering on any negatives – for instance, the time you were laid off – the more you talk about a negative, the more it is reinforced in the interviewer’s mind.  You want your story to be a positive story.

1. Think about involving other “characters” (also know as colleagues or teams!) in your story.  Imagine how boring a book would be if it had only ONE character.  So, when you talk about your career, feel free to comment on how a boss was supportive, or how lucky you were to have a great team.
2. Think about the “chapters” to your story.  In an interview, the “chapters” take the form of WAR stories:  What was the challenge, What Actions did you take, and What were the Results you achieved.  Measureable results work best in your career story.  Make sure you prepare 8-10 chapters – WAR stories – in advance of an interview.  I always suggest writing them out because the act of writing can help you clarify the “chapter” and will highlight any “chapters” that don’t fit into your book.
3. Make sure your story is clear and true.   Your story is not a fictional novel; it is a NON-fictional narrative that others will be able to verify.  Especially in this age of the  “non-reference check” (by that I mean that interviewers will go beyond the folks you have listed as references and do an informal reading of your performance. Often this will be based on Linkedin colleagues you have in common.)  For instance, you want to be sure that when you say you “led” a project, the others on the project team who may be informally tapped to talk about you will recognize you as the team leader.
4. There is more to the need for truth in your story… interviewers are pretty savvy at noticing when you may be expanding your role or defending the indefensible.  They notice when you are not telling the truth on a non-verbal level. And, as we all know, up to 90% of the meaning of your story may be communicated non-verbally.
5. Make sure that the ending to your career story enables the interviewer to see how you would add value to his/her company.

Finally (and stretching this metaphor to the limit!), make sure that your story has a happy ending.  Enable the interviewer to “see” you in the position for which you are interviewing.

Warning – Read This ONLY if you are ready to be ANGRY.

Ok, we’ve seen the State of the Union and the Republican Response…Lots of words, but conspicuous was what was missing.

If you are like me  (a political junky) you were probably struck by the same thing on Tuesday evening.

In all the posturing, the mentioning of people and places who need job creation – SoCal was mentioned – NOT AT ALL.

According to Indeed.com:  Washington has TWO job postings for every unemployed person.  San Jose, Columbus, St. Paul, Hartford, Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Raleigh, Milwaukee, New Orleans (!), Richmond, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Pittsburgh and Austin ALL have ONE job posting for every unemployed person.

The rest of the major metropolitan areas (numbers 17-38) have one posting per TWO unemployed persons.

Los Angeles …. You know this, you can feel this, and you can see this Los Angeles has ONE OPENING FOR EVERY FOUR UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE.

Why is this not getting national attention?  Why wasn’t a person from LA sitting next to Michelle Obama as an example of what is wrong with our nation?  Is it that LA does not count in the primaries?

Or is it because we have a reputation as being in “LaLa Land”?

Well, I for one am tired of it.  Let’s Occupy Washington to fight for the jobs that Los Angeles deserves.   Washington has TWO many jobs – let’s get them to feel some pain.  Let’s have Washington send their “extra” jobs to a place that needs them.  Los Angeles.

Okay… starting a new job is like starting a new year… you get to act and perform differently.

Here are a few tips that will help you enter a new company:

1. Try to meet all your key stakeholders BEFORE your start date.
2. Try to influence the internal (and external) announcement of your new position.
3. Identify all your key stakeholders and have a formal meeting with them where you ask, “What can I do for you?”
4. Remember that your boss is a key stakeholder.
5. Ask your boss, “What is our mission?”  and “What are the impediments to accomplishing our mission?”
6. At some time during your first 30 days, ask your boss what “success” would look like at your 90 day point, 6 month point and your 1 year anniversary.  Put those items into objectives for yourself.  Work with your boss to develop and implement the objectives
7. Set up a regular meeting schedule with your boss.  (And other key stakeholders!)
8. Create a “stump speech” that describes your role in the company from the point of view of your stakeholders.
9. Use your stump speech whenever you can:  at other group’s staff meetings, lunches, etc.

You can find many more ideas like these in Michael Watson’s The First Ninety Days or George Brandt’s The First 100 Days.  Both books are excellent.

Entering a company can be full of land mines.  George Bradt and his co-authors outline these landmines in a book called “The New Leader’s Action Plan.”

Remember that “pitch” you used to get the job?  Well, now it needs to be CHANGED to fit the needs of the new organization.  Instead of, “I am an executive who…blah blah,” it needs to be, “I am an executive who will be concerned with getting YOUR needs met by doing, listening, blah…blah.”

Remember that even if you have been hired to create change, you can’t do that on your own… identify your key stakeholders, spend time with them and tailor your efforts to their goals.

Remember why you had to go to a new company in the first place:  was there a skill (like delegation) that you were told you were missing?  How will you address acquiring the new skills you need?

Build relationships – good relationships are like money in the bank.  You develop a good relationship by doing something FOR a colleague – NOT by asking for something from a colleague.

Under promise and over deliver – always – but especially during the first 100 days…develop a plan with your boss on what and how you will deliver a key project.

Congratulations on your new job… and good luck avoiding land mines!

HBR asked a great question in their November issue:  Why doesn’t the USA try to be India’s most respected company?

http://hbr.org/2011/11/why-dont-we-try-to-be-indias-most-respected-company/ar/1

What could be the downside?  US Companies are already (trying to be) ethical, to respect employees while grappling with shareholder value?  We are already “outsourcing” to India.  Now, if we begin to demand that Indian employees get benefits, pensions and a “living wage.” we would immediately become competitive.  We have the power to require that the people to whom we outsource can live a lower/middle class life.

I agree there are many Indian Companies with whom this will not work and with whom we do not want to do business – but living in “harmony” (as the head of Infosys, N.R. Narayana Murty states) would begin to force a normalization of wages.

My thought is that if the USA gains respect in India – the cost of employment in India will increase and we will get more jobs back to the US.  And gain back our reputation as the employer of choice.  What do YOU think?