Page 62 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Entering the Organization 47

important responsibilities to how your predecessor actually spent time
and energy.
■ The committees. What are the major committees? Is there an executive
committee? Who is its spokesperson? How are decisions delegated and
made? How supportive and helpful is the executive team? Where is your
likely competition?
■ The hidden problems. Where are the land mines, the submerged icebergs
both within and outside the department or team? What are sources of
unseen problems and danger to the department and to your own career?
Your predecessor should be able to tell you pitfalls to avoid, your boss’s
hot buttons, and organizational areas that can cause problems for you.
■ Critical stakeholders. Who are the critical stakeholders with whom you
need to build relationships? What are their chief concerns as it relates to
your function? What is most important to each of them? What is the
best way to get to know them and begin to build a relationship? Any hot
buttons that it would be important for you to know about?
■ Horizontal work processes. What are the work processes or work flows of
which your function is a part? How are they working? What are the
areas for improvement? Who are the strongest contributors to cross-
functional teamwork? Who are the weak links in this regard?

It may not be a bad idea to set aside this information temporarily, using it
only as a guide. You have gathered opinions and biases that may be different
from your own, or from reality. You need to use this information carefully.
Within days you will begin the formal organizational analysis. As this process
progresses, review your predecessor’s comments, and compare them with your
own perceptions. In some cases, your hunches will be confirmed, and you may
get some insights into situations you have observed. And certainly you will get
a running start that will ensure a smoother transition for you.

Other Sources of Information
Another source of information is organizational documentation. As he met
people and got to know them, one manager spent many hours in his office
reviewing documents during his first weeks on the job. The following docu-
ments should be reviewed:

■ Departmental administrative or operations material, which should include
the organizational chart, descriptions of work flow policies, department