Page 161 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

146 Just Promoted!

Your role is not to control the steering committee’s conclusions and rec-
ommendations. However, you need to be comfortable with its direction and
goals. Candid discussions with the steering committee can ensure your sup-
port or communicate your discomfort with particular initiatives or goals.
These discussions should begin as soon as possible.
You should know the diagnostic process as well as anyone on the steering
committee (excluding internal or external consultants who may be involved).
Use your knowledge and demonstrate your commitment to the process.
You know that participation should be broad and should represent differ-
ent subgroups and the diversity of skills and experience in the organization.
You also know the limitations of the analysis, if there are issues that cannot be
touched (these should be very few, if any), and what the resource limitations
are. These can often be identified early in the process and should be defined
as the limits and boundaries of the organizational improvement process.
By selecting the steering committee and insisting on the “we-ness” of the
effort, you can help ensure fair representation as the process continues.
Through pronouncement and example, you can ensure that the problem-solv-
ing process is applied to all areas under you, that the real organization is accu-
rately described, and that the task forces rethink and analyze the organization’s
functions and processes in a creative problem-solving mode. Similarly, the
ideal organization, represented by the steering committee’s recommendations,
must be objectively considered looking at both alternatives and consequences.
Get the groups started and give them plenty of room to operate. Intervene only
when necessary.
Your primary role is to coach the steering committee. Much of your coach-
ing will be done in private, with the steering committee chair and task force
heads. Attend some, but not all, steering committee meetings. At steering com-
mittee meetings, ask questions. If meetings are problematic, redirect the group
to stay on the agenda, to consider multiple approaches, to resolve its conflicts,
and to develop consensus. Your more active input should be one-on-one with
the chair, away from steering committee meetings so you don’t undermine the
chair’s authority.
Develop a contract with the steering committee chair that describes his or
her prerogatives and yours. Agree that if either of you feel the agreement is
being violated, you may call “time out” before the problem festers. Project your
own confidence and a strong sense that you understand the process. You
should not be all-knowing of the “right” answers. Avoid giving the impression