Page 55 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

40 Just Promoted!

■ Given an understanding of the process, your boss can more easily become
a coach and consultant to you, advising you regarding the changes that
may develop out of your data gathering and diagnostic efforts.
■ Your boss should agree to meet regularly with you, to maintain strong
lines of communication and information sharing. Questions or concerns
should be aired immediately and not permitted to fester. Beware of a
boss who is too quiet or nonevaluative. Whether or not your boss says
anything, he or she is watching and thinking. Try to get your boss’s
views out in the open.
■ You and your boss should agree on the type of reporting and decision
making that will fit your boss’s style. Agree on procedures for these.
Here is an example of how one newly promoted leader managed her transi-
tion in discussion with her boss. A telecommunications manager felt that she
had received her promotion partly because she had worked closely with her new
boss, which had convinced her new boss that she knew what was wrong and
how to fix it. Nevertheless, the manager negotiated a transition period of at least
three months, during which she was allowed to assess the organization’s
resources, personnel, structure, and work flow. Even though her boss was impa-
tient for some changes, the manager held the boss to her promise and kept her
informed step-by-step of the diagnostic process. As the new manager developed
a better understanding of the organization, her boss changed some of her own
prescriptions and agreed to let the new manager do it her way.
It is important that you and your boss confirm your must-do priorities for
the first 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. In conversation with your boss, you will want
to again confirm the scope of your responsibilities, available resources, levels
of decision-making authority, and how your performance will be measured. It
is best if this discussion occurs before the announcement of your new position,
but sometimes it occurs right after you accept the position. The fourth Just Pro-
moted Leader Tool, Confirming Your Appointment Charter, and the fifth Just
Promoted Leader Tool, Your 12-Month Road Map, will be discussed more fully
in Chapter 3 to help you plan for this discussion with your new boss.

BEGIN TO ACTIVELY LEARN YOUR NEW JOB
Even if you were the assistant, heir apparent, and right hand of your prede-
cessor, and even if you think you know everything about the job, take time to