Page 66 - Just Promoted A 12 Month Road Map for Success in Your New Leadership Role

Entering the Organization 51

team members in the company with the help of her critical stakeholders. She
laid out a basic timeline and project plan and then challenged her team to fig-
ure out with her how they would accomplish this mammoth task together. She
saw her role as removing obstacles from their path, getting them the resources
they needed, giving them focus and direction when needed, and challenging
them to think of new ways to accelerate their preparation for the FDA review.
The team responded by fully committing their time and energy to the proj-
ect. No one complained about working long hours or the difficulty in achiev-
ing the task. Everyone’s focus was on the preparation for achieving the FDA
approval needed and submission to the European drug regulatory body for
early approval. The physician leader got them the people and other resources
they needed, ensured that they weren’t distracted by other projects, and made
sure that senior management knew how effectively they were working to meet
their goal. She openly praised them for the work they were doing and con-
gratulated them on their successes.

Organizational advocacy means promoting your organization with insiders
and outsiders alike. Fight to see that your people are awarded training slots,
conference attendance, and memberships on important committees and task
forces, and make sure that they get promotions. You will get as you give. If you
are generous in your support for your people, they in turn will be generous in
their time and energy. Their successes will reflect positively on your grasp of
one of a leader’s most important tasks: the ability to identify, nurture, and pro-
mote talent.
Similarly, if you are generous in your praise for people in your organiza-
tion, they in turn will be loyal and generous in their praise for you. Hand out
credit freely. Mention names of people who contributed to special accom-
plishments; give credit for ideas and suggestions, even if the help was only inci-
dental to something you did. Above all, do not take credit for what your
subordinates did. Actually, this is an example of a positive influencing tech-
nique called reciprocation. When you do something good or helpful for
another person, that person is most likely to reciprocate and do something
nice or helpful for you.
One manager talked as though he was at the vortex of every decision, solu-
tion, or accomplishment in his department. In describing department activi-
ties, he spoke as if they were his ideas or as if he had been highly instrumental
in planning and achieving them even when he had been only peripherally