Page 169 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

154 Just Promoted!

A salesperson with six months of experience with a company was given the
opportunity to brainstorm and problem solve the organization’s learning and
development program. She stated that the program was very weak in her divi-
sion, that she was spending almost no time in the field, was left alone in the
office too often, and saw the sales director and other experienced salespeople
taking two- and three-hour lunches. It took only a few hours for her sales direc-
tor’s friends to relay what his new employee had said about him. After the
closed-door meetings, department meetings, explanations, and memos, the new
employee was transferred to a different site, fortunate that she still had a job.
What about your critics? By excluding them from the problem-solving task
forces, you can deny them influence and power. In most information- and
knowledge-based industries, information is a source of power. People with-
out information are left out of decision making, and they lose power. But deny-
ing your critics access to decision-making authority can also harm you.
Excluding them lessens your chance of bringing critics on board, giving them
some stake, and turning negative critics into positive forces that can help both
you and the organization.
We have seen it both ways—critics who came on board and were won over
to the renewal process and critics who, primarily because they were angry, psy-
chologically withdrew from the discussions or were difficult to cope with. It’s
a tough call. We generally suggest including a few known critics but choosing
people who see things in different ways, not people with a personal ax to grind.
You need diverse opinions, not negative attitudes. At the very least, convey a
willingness to hear a true diversity of opinion. No one should ever be criticized
or punished for his or her candor during a formal diagnostic process that you
sponsor. Not only is such criticism unfair but it could damage your credibil-
ity permanently.
Broad-based participation can foster team building and the development
of cohesion within the function. Two recently merged organizations used
problem-solving task forces to get people from the different merged units talk-
ing to each other, sharing perceptions, experiences, and knowledge and build-
ing trust and commitment with each other. Another organization used creative
problem-solving approaches to help four group leaders learn to work together.
In the process, they shared definitions, perceptions, experiences, and objec-
tives. They developed better working relationships as they shared mutual prob-
lems and carved out shared solutions.