Confessions of a Corporate Shopaholic

As leaders, arriving at a changing or even turmoil environment can be a daunting reality.  There is a lack of trust in the air from the people left behind.  You can hardly find anyone with enough facts to put the puzzle together.  Everyone is saying what you can and cannot do.  Neighboring departments all seem to be using the chance to grab a piece of your empire.  Your comrades are all skeptic.  You don’t know who to trust.  Your boss hired you into the situation and expects you to turn things around, fast. 

This sounds very common to all professions of all industries.  Those days of hiring you into an established post already with good processes and good people are long gone.  We are all expected to improve, land better results, and accomplish the so-called impossibilities.  If not with the latter, your subordinates would have already been qualified for your job.   From day one, you should have already set your expectations right.

I am still surprised to see how many new leaders performing below expectations, not only in the first quarter, but for the first full year.  Yes I know how challenging any new environment is, and how insecure we can all become, at least secretly, from all the observations and disasters landing our way right from the start.  However, there is just no way to look back and ponder.  In my opinion, they have nothing much to lose if they are hired to turn things around in the first place.  Things cannot get any worse, and timing cannot be any better, in reality.

Speed is critical.  People need to see actions, attitudes, opinions, and bold drives.  Employees need to see hope and change.  Though there is no guarantee (is there any, ever?) of the outcome, new leaders need to be able to articulate his or her vision and couple with a few tangible action plans quickly, usually no later than the first quarter assuming office. 

Doing nothing, hiding in his or her comfort zone and let the whole situation plays itself out is by far the worst thing any new leaders can do.

Insecurity?  Please, no time for that.  Don’t start putting the blame on people and the predecessors.  Yeah yeah, that’s why new leadership is sought.   I have seen new leaders complaining about how they are left with no alliances, soldiers and culture.  Yet they always fail to realize that they are the leaders of change as well.  They have way more ammunition than they thought.  They can hire and fire.  They can instill new thoughts and culture.  They can set examples by getting their butts off meeting internal customers, stakeholders and senior executives to remove obstacles and attain buy-in.  Without that,  they can hardly expect their subordinates to change, just like that.

We all need a large mirror to reflect on what we do, behave and run away from.  It is particularly difficult to see the truth when you are a leader because there are very few who would dare to hold up the mirror against you.  Needless to say, knowing how to pick and utilize your talent pool is probably the most critical and very first thing any new leader should master.  Identify the good people, know what their strengths and weaknesses are, and spot the ones who are marginally effective.   Only then would you be able to take in the right advice and recommendations, from the right people.

Insecure leaders, on the other hand, tend to be skeptic of competent staff members due to reasons listed in Part One.  To me, these are just signs that they are still acting as managers, and clearly not yet leadership material. 

This, is where executive coaches come in.   One coach used to say “Getting past your insecurity and embracing contributions from talented staff is the best starting point of becoming a new leader.”