The crucial first approach

The crucial first approach

*This article is self-made, so can´t be considered an AI one.


You get a new managing position, and you face immediate opportunities to add value such as low sales compared with the budget or a given group of reports with a certain way of working (meaning relations between each one of the company). Everything sadly driving to results different than expected. What should be the starting point, you may guess?


First, you should remember that results are a consequence of doing things right. So exclusively push your team in the very first moment to increase sales would be a poor idea: your team expects the world from you. They mistakenly could consider you know much more than you really do about everything. The bad news is that you are neither taller nor nicer than before getting the position.

 

But what if you -that know the company and the sector you have recently joined just through your previous search and through the eyes of your recruiter / employer- at the same time you spread the needed more positive tension, start by knowing your executives and middle managers: listen to how they live the company, how they describe their own work and how they tell their opinion about what is right and wrong at the company? By the way, letting them know who you are, that you are 100% committed to make a difference and you care for their opinion…

 

One special meeting with he/she is in charge of preparing the P&L because he/she will be probably your right hand, approximately ten more individual meetings (about 2 days with your direct team) and some group meetings (about 2-3 additional days with other business leaders). This approach rather than be a one week waste of time allows you to open a relationship based on trust and identify initial gaps. So, say you now have a primarily idea about particularly important things such as if there is a shared purpose, who can be considered an A, B or C player, how they work together and what kind of bench you can count on.

 

Be sure, then, everyone in the C-Suite understand the ultimate meaning of being a member (golden rules for example.... one single company better than functional areas competing between each other or alignment is welcome if we don´t get consensus) give clarity in terms of your expectations about roles before individuals and set the outcomes and timings expected. What if you try to be as visible as possible with your team´s direct reports when they tell it?

 

Once you have done all this yes, you can start with an iterative never ending data - dialogue & decision process, evaluate progress on closing the identified gaps, follow results Vs forecasts in short periods of time (let’s say in an agile way) and relentlessly invest your time and effort to inspire the whole organization and anchor commitment with the essential common vision.


Your first approach is crucial.

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