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After the Job Is Won
One key feature of The Five O’Clock Club
outplacement program is that our service is available for one year,
allowing clients to continue to see their coach at no charge to them even
after they have been placed. While
many self-paying clients will recognize issues with the
“on-boarding” process, the majority feel that, since they have
had a successful career, they know how to “do the job” once
they land it.
The first challenge is to
assess the situation. There are many
things to look at -- everything from who is copied on emails and who
routinely eats lunch with whom, to the layout of the offices. Almost
inevitably, this is where you will find out information no one told you in
the interview process. In my case, for example, I learned from my secretary
that my predecessor had died only three weeks before I was hired. Clients, customers, and co-workers were
still grieving and I had to tread lightly during my first months in implementing
changes.
Part of that assessment must
be to look at how financial, physical, and human resources are
allocated--and potentials for their reallocation. Ken was hired as CEO for a $20MM firm
providing professional software. He quickly found that the customer service
department was staffed by two people placed there because they were
technically incapable of doing the more complex jobs, for which they had
been hired. This was affecting add-on sales, because customers were unhappy
with support.
Ken and I discussed potential
solutions, and he went to his board with a proposal, which they then funded
–- quickly solving the problem.
Although the board knew there were concerns, they did not really know exactly what
they were. They were forthright
enough to tell Ken that, and confident enough in his assessment.
In managing others, it is
important to assess their strengths and weaknesses. When Pam became SVP-Strategic Planning of
a major publisher, she had three direct reports. In individual meetings,
she found that two of them had wanted her job. Together, we discussed how to handle a
volatile situation and then set
expectations and timelines that led to functionality and integration
for the group.
Individual meetings also
frequently uncover the “real” reasons for dysfunctional behaviors. For example, Ron, the new CFO of a major
not-for-profit, had difficulty understanding the resentment of his direct
reports until one told him that they didn’t like working for “a
younger guy.” Ron, who could
pass for early thirties, is actually 43. When he pointed that out, his
employee smiled, saying his predecessor was 42. The ice was broken, and it became an
office joke instead of a resentment.
We often strategize around
what will give early credibility and reposition a job more favorably to
increase leverage. Ann was a new
school principal, replacing a man who had retired for health reasons. He had stayed in his office, and the
school had become chaotic, with an increase in student rowdiness, resulting
in several incidents at sports events, with students being arrested and negative media
coverage. Ann simply attended the
basketball games, walking the floor and quieting the rowdy students
herself. She took a risk, but
everyone responded positively to her request to show their best, and all
stakeholders -- students, teachers, parents, and the larger community --
noticed.
Usually, the new boss has
made the hiring decision and has expressed his or her expectations. Many times, however, peers or
“dotted-line” relationships will be critical to success, and
they need to be consulted. I
helped Joe, who was starting his new
job as an engagement manager for a $100MM software company, identify the
sales director and three project managers as key to his success at
increasing penetration and revenues.
Finally, in coaching, we look
at the existing culture, especially if it is different from the last
job. Accepting a promotion to the Manhattan
headquarters of a financial services firm, Tim was overwhelmed by the
office politics. In his nine years with the firm, all in divisions, he had
focused only on doing an excellent technical job. We met weekly to strategize on what he
could do to get appropriately noticed. We developed tactics that led to his
becoming a manager of two other groups and then to a managing director a
year later. I attribute this not to
any “kissing up” but to the targeted sharing of his successes.
Developing a plan for
successful “on-boarding” is perhaps even more important for
career development than landing the job, and it is crucial for long-term
success.
Executive Coaching
In the last month, I have
been involved in four corporate coaching situations, two involving women,
two men, all from very different employers: a foreign bank, a major medical
institution, a large insurance company, and a publisher. The common
denominator: all were excellent technically, but they did not listen
or give credit to others, and they
all had to be right in any interaction.
The first step coaches must
take, following the preliminary discussion with Human Resources, is a clear
acceptance of a behavioral problem.
I have found that while there is some buy-in, the best way to
demonstrate value is to ask for an upcoming situation where the potential
for some conflict is present, and then to discuss alternate behavior and
how the “coachee” could positively influence the outcome for
all.
Coaching has made large
strides toward becoming accepted in corporate America.
I believe strongly in having outcome criteria that can be measured in terms
of business contribution. Without
that, we risk becoming another “feel-good” fad for both the
“coachee’ and the employer.
Books I’d Recommend
Why Business People Speak Like Idiots -- A Bullfighter’s
Guide, by Brian Fugere, Chelsea Hardaway and Jon Warshawsky, New York,
Free Press, 2005, $22.00.
Three Deloitte consultants
wrote this book, which a client recommended. The authors state, “This
is your wake-up call. Personality, humanity, and candor are being sucked
out of the workplace. Let the wonks
send their empty messages. Yours are going to connect.”
They then quote an annual
report: “Performance in 2000 was a success by any measure, as we
continued to outdistance the competition and solidify our leadership in
each of our major businesses. … We have metamorphosed to a marketing
and logistics company whose biggest asset is its well-established business
approach.” Did the reader
guess? It was Enron.
The authors take on acronyms,
jargon, long copy, and evasive speeches. They advocate honesty, humor, phones over email,
admitting mistakes, and having fun meetings. It is an easy read, but a
serious look at a real problem.
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