Page 44 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Entering the Organization 29

■ Communicate that the department or team has strengths to build on; at
the same time, every organization has challenges and problems, and
everyone must strive for continuous improvement.
■ Affirm that the department or team’s members are capable and commit-
ted. Be positive, and relay to them some of the complimentary things
you have learned about them as a whole during the selection process.
■ Tell them, “We will solve our problems as a group. Our whole is greater
than the sum of our parts.” Stress that everyone is interdependent. Tell
them that you expect to rely on them and trust them just as they can rely
on and trust you.
■ Conclude by saying, “We will succeed, improve, and grow individually
and as a team.”

From this first meeting, concentrate on building relationships with your
staff, developing your key communication messages, and ensuring personal
access to each member of your work unit. Stress the people side of your role
for these reasons:

■ You genuinely feel people are most important.
■ You need staff support to get the work done.
■ You need their assistance to meet the organization’s challenges.
■ You need their assistance to plan and implement the future—that is, the
organization’s continual renewal.
During the first meeting, mention that within a few weeks you will be ask-
ing the staff to participate in a comprehensive analysis of the organization’s
mission, goals, policies, practices, and procedures. Indicate that you are under-
taking this effort so the department or team can better control its own future
direction and prerogatives. Tell the staff, “We want to confirm our strengths
and identify what we can do to become stronger as a group. In other words,
we want to adopt an organizational ‘fitness program.’” Indicate that you will
be meeting with the unit heads or management team members to map out the
organizational analysis and that there will be a role in the process for as many
people in the organization as possible.
People will want to know whether their jobs are secure. Assure them that
no changes are imminent if, in fact, that is the case. If you know or think that
staff reductions will occur, be careful not to indicate that all is well, or your
credibility is at risk. Focus on what can be done. In these initial days you need