Page 64 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Entering the Organization 49

want to further their abilities. They will also give you a good sense of
how quickly individuals may move out of your function or whether you
will have an opportunity to upgrade some capabilities in the near future.

The difference between learning your job and diagnosing your organiza-
tion is important. Diagnosis encompasses data collection, analysis, making
judgments and assessments, and making decisions; it implies organizational
change. Learning your job may be a part of that, but resist the temptation to
push toward organizational change prematurely. For now, take time to learn
what your organization does before deciding what is wrong and what should
be changed. One of the most common mistakes to avoid is coming in with
your “playbook” because it worked somewhere else.
Other sources of information about your job may be the company’s annual
reports or, if its stock is publicly traded, its annual reports to shareholders and
its 10-K reports that it files with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC). While these reports probably will not address your department’s mis-
sion, they will describe the company’s strategic direction, lines of business,
branches or subsidiaries, successes and failures, and the philosophies and val-
ues of officers and board members. An important consideration is the
prospective role your department is to play in the coming years. For example,
if you are in a research department and the company depends on a steady flow
of new products, it would be chilling to find out that the board of directors
has decided to downsize all departments, including research.
Other similar sources of information include industry journals, trade pub-
lications, industry and trade organizations, and meetings of peers from other
companies. For example, the Drug Information Association holds an annual
conference, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association
(PhRMA) provides updates on the latest research being conducted in phar-
maceutical and biotech companies. Every major industry sector and most
business functions (for example, finance, human resources, project manage-
ment) have professional organizations or councils such as those sponsored by
the Conference Board that can provide the latest information about issues in
the field and what other companies are doing in these areas. Over the past sev-
eral years, many professional meetings have dealt with emerging technology
and the environment. The Internet, reputable social networks, and professional
journals and conference proceedings in a particular field are replete with infor-
mation that a leader can turn into plans and decisions.