Page 49 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

34 Just Promoted!

Process
Step 1 HR contacts the new leader to recommend and explain the assimila-
tion process. It is essential that the process be voluntary. If the leader is
forced to use it, the leader’s reluctance will show in his conduct, which
will defeat the purpose of the NLTAP.
Step 2 The new leader invites the staff by letter to attend an “assimilation
meeting” and clarifies the objectives and/or reasons for having it.
Step 3 The new leader usually “kicks off” the assimilation, explaining the
objectives and reasons for having the meeting. He introduces the facilita-
tor and tells the group that he (the new leader) will leave the room for
one to one and a half hours. Without the leader present, the group will
feel more comfortable to speak freely.
Step 4 Once the leader leaves the room, the facilitator reiterates the group’s
objective. The facilitator then leads the staff through an icebreaker exer-
cise designed to get the participants comfortable with sharing personal
information and getting to know each other better. A sample exercise
might be to ask each person to share with the group the answers to sim-
ple questions. (It would be ideal to put the questions on a flip chart so
the participants can easily reflect on them.) The questions are these:

■ Where is your hometown?
■ What is your favorite nickname? Why is it your favorite? Or, What is
your middle name? Why were you given this middle name?
■ Where would you travel on vacation if you could go anywhere? Why
would you go there?
■ What leadership characteristics do you most admire in your ideal
leader? Why?

Note the leadership characteristics on a flip chart for the group to view.
Later review the leadership list with the leader.
Step 5 Following the icebreaker, the facilitator leads the group through
eight standard questions. The facilitator raises the questions but does not
indicate her feelings on any of them. She tries to get a sense of whether
each comment is an individual one or whether the group overall agrees
with the response. The facilitator guarantees confidentiality by not iden-
tifying who has made specific comments. The participants’ responses are
noted on a flip chart.