7 Keys to a Successful Job Start
29 September 2014
Read by 3880 persons
The first 100 days are critical!
Whether you're about to take on a CEO position or a new management role, changing companies or moving internally, the first 100 days are crucial for your future success. There's a grace period; most leaders have experienced it! New arrivals benefit from positive expectations and a fresh perspective that allows them to correct certain issues. Anyone who doesn't use this favorable period to build or rebuild trust, establish credibility, provide new impetus, or take essential protective measures will struggle to recover later. There are plenty of examples, both positive and negative, in politics and business!
After gathering feedback from about forty top-level executives and leading a working group on this topic, I summarized fifty recommendations in a book titled "100 Days to Success - Words from Leaders," which enjoys widespread agreement. Seven points seem essential and applicable to most job starts:
1) Understand "where you're stepping":
A common mistake is to rely on ready-made solutions that worked elsewhere but are unsuitable in a new context. To make good decisions, you must first take the pulse of the company. "If you don't know the local terrain, its features, forests, and dangers, you won't be able to lead your troops" [Sun Tzu].
Quickly understand the expectations of your new employer, the group, or shareholders: discern their real priorities and expectations, and clarify the unspoken, sometimes going beyond the stated.
Also understand "how it works": the organization's functioning, key issues, risks, priorities, and people. Beyond the organizational chart, what is the importance and influence of each person? Who can you rely on? Attitude and human qualities are as important as skills.
2) Act, decide, keep the pace!
This information gathering should be done within a few weeks, ideally starting before the job begins, to hit the ground running. Early decisions must be made quickly, before the end of the first month. To do this, you need to forgo the reassuring prospect of a complete understanding of the situation and focus on the essentials, trusting your profession and intuition. Indecision is a fatal flaw here.
A priority decision will concern your team. Let those you count on know quickly! The first "business" decisions should also be made after 3 or 4 weeks.
3) A short-term, precise, and milestone-driven action plan, aiming for quick early wins.
Rather than aiming for and announcing very ambitious long-term goals, it's better to implement a precise, milestone-driven action plan to get the organization moving and quickly demonstrate tangible results. This will focus team efforts, build momentum, and create or restore trust—team trust in themselves, teams in their boss, trust from "clients" (the superior, the group, or shareholders, as applicable), and trust from partners.
It's about showing that the new boss is doing what they said, getting results, and keeping their promises. And, within the team, everyone should also know what's expected of them and their priorities.
Caution! This short-term action plan is not THE strategy. It aims for useful early victories. The strategy isn't known at this stage; more time is needed to define it.
This short-term plan doesn't claim to be exhaustive. You need to focus on the essentials, the "80/20," the limited number of issues that will deliver most of the results.
4) Monitor the action plan
Defining short-term priorities and taking early action is important, but not enough. You need the means to ensure that the decided actions are effectively implemented and the announced results are achieved.
Reporting is essential here: measurement determines behavior. With appropriate, shared reporting, teams will naturally move toward desired behaviors and defined objectives. Therefore, quickly implement a few relevant indicators, aiming for simplicity and efficiency rather than perfection, to allow close monitoring, monthly or even weekly, of the progress of the defined action plan.
5) Postpone major structural projects
One frequently observed pitfall is trying to do too much too soon. In a new job, some young executives prematurely launch large-scale projects, to "do it like in the management books" or by succumbing to consultants promising "wonders."
Teams then find themselves busy preparing a 5-year plan, completely overhauling reporting (you need some, but simple. And fast!), implementing a new IT system, etc. These major projects, which are often slow to yield results, are very energy-consuming, distract teams from daily business and immediate priorities. They are therefore detrimental to immediate tangible results and often lead to much frustration and discouragement.
At this stage, the long-term strategy isn't known. Deep structural reforms can come later, after the first 100 days, supporting a strategy that has been fully considered and for well-defined objectives.
6) Define and enforce the rules of the collective game
A boss is a guide. Like a conductor, they give their team the "key" and tempo, set priorities, and organize work. But they are also the initiator and guarantor of the rules of the collective game. They are therefore both coach and referee.
This managerial ability has been shown to be one of the characteristics of high-performing organizations. Also, authority is one of the few things that wears out if not used.
So, for example: meetings start on time, commitments are kept, deadlines are met, teamwork prevails, people come with solutions not just problems, mistakes are accepted but transparency is non-negotiable, "bad news first," etc.
7) Communicate a lot, but simply and consistently
In the beginning was the word! Communication is an essential act of leadership that accompanies and underlies action. Explaining, delegating, training, motivating, congratulating: everything ultimately comes down to words. Communication must therefore be constant throughout the 100 days. And it cannot be delegated. The boss must embody the change they propose.
However, be wary of grand speeches and lyrical pronouncements: today, grand pronouncements and appeals to values are no longer heard. Similarly, arriving as a savior and overusing the notion of legacy will often backfire. No grand media show or theatrics are needed.
Effective communication must be simple, concrete, and close to the ground. A few symbolic images or measures can reinforce the message.
Good communication is above all about consistency: consistency between words and actions, between internal and external communication, between injunctions and example. Only announce what can be kept, otherwise remain silent.
These are just a few rules among the 50 proposed in this book, but they seem to me among the most important and general. Of course, these are not ready-made recipes that guarantee success. The experience and personality of the new manager, their suitability for these new roles, are decisive. But anyone who forgets these principles significantly harms their chances of success, both immediate and long-term. Because the first impression lasts a long time.
Frédéric Marquette.
Link to the book page
Recently published by Leduc.s editions / À CONTRE-COURANT Collection
PRICE: €20 (and €13.99 digital)
Number of pages: 208
Huffingtonpost.fr
Published September 17, 2014.
Posted online September 29, 2014.
Whether you're about to take on a CEO position or a new management role, changing companies or moving internally, the first 100 days are crucial for your future success. There's a grace period; most leaders have experienced it! New arrivals benefit from positive expectations and a fresh perspective that allows them to correct certain issues. Anyone who doesn't use this favorable period to build or rebuild trust, establish credibility, provide new impetus, or take essential protective measures will struggle to recover later. There are plenty of examples, both positive and negative, in politics and business!
After gathering feedback from about forty top-level executives and leading a working group on this topic, I summarized fifty recommendations in a book titled "100 Days to Success - Words from Leaders," which enjoys widespread agreement. Seven points seem essential and applicable to most job starts:
1) Understand "where you're stepping":
A common mistake is to rely on ready-made solutions that worked elsewhere but are unsuitable in a new context. To make good decisions, you must first take the pulse of the company. "If you don't know the local terrain, its features, forests, and dangers, you won't be able to lead your troops" [Sun Tzu].
Quickly understand the expectations of your new employer, the group, or shareholders: discern their real priorities and expectations, and clarify the unspoken, sometimes going beyond the stated.
Also understand "how it works": the organization's functioning, key issues, risks, priorities, and people. Beyond the organizational chart, what is the importance and influence of each person? Who can you rely on? Attitude and human qualities are as important as skills.
2) Act, decide, keep the pace!
This information gathering should be done within a few weeks, ideally starting before the job begins, to hit the ground running. Early decisions must be made quickly, before the end of the first month. To do this, you need to forgo the reassuring prospect of a complete understanding of the situation and focus on the essentials, trusting your profession and intuition. Indecision is a fatal flaw here.
A priority decision will concern your team. Let those you count on know quickly! The first "business" decisions should also be made after 3 or 4 weeks.
3) A short-term, precise, and milestone-driven action plan, aiming for quick early wins.
Rather than aiming for and announcing very ambitious long-term goals, it's better to implement a precise, milestone-driven action plan to get the organization moving and quickly demonstrate tangible results. This will focus team efforts, build momentum, and create or restore trust—team trust in themselves, teams in their boss, trust from "clients" (the superior, the group, or shareholders, as applicable), and trust from partners.
It's about showing that the new boss is doing what they said, getting results, and keeping their promises. And, within the team, everyone should also know what's expected of them and their priorities.
Caution! This short-term action plan is not THE strategy. It aims for useful early victories. The strategy isn't known at this stage; more time is needed to define it.
This short-term plan doesn't claim to be exhaustive. You need to focus on the essentials, the "80/20," the limited number of issues that will deliver most of the results.
4) Monitor the action plan
Defining short-term priorities and taking early action is important, but not enough. You need the means to ensure that the decided actions are effectively implemented and the announced results are achieved.
Reporting is essential here: measurement determines behavior. With appropriate, shared reporting, teams will naturally move toward desired behaviors and defined objectives. Therefore, quickly implement a few relevant indicators, aiming for simplicity and efficiency rather than perfection, to allow close monitoring, monthly or even weekly, of the progress of the defined action plan.
5) Postpone major structural projects
One frequently observed pitfall is trying to do too much too soon. In a new job, some young executives prematurely launch large-scale projects, to "do it like in the management books" or by succumbing to consultants promising "wonders."
Teams then find themselves busy preparing a 5-year plan, completely overhauling reporting (you need some, but simple. And fast!), implementing a new IT system, etc. These major projects, which are often slow to yield results, are very energy-consuming, distract teams from daily business and immediate priorities. They are therefore detrimental to immediate tangible results and often lead to much frustration and discouragement.
At this stage, the long-term strategy isn't known. Deep structural reforms can come later, after the first 100 days, supporting a strategy that has been fully considered and for well-defined objectives.
6) Define and enforce the rules of the collective game
A boss is a guide. Like a conductor, they give their team the "key" and tempo, set priorities, and organize work. But they are also the initiator and guarantor of the rules of the collective game. They are therefore both coach and referee.
This managerial ability has been shown to be one of the characteristics of high-performing organizations. Also, authority is one of the few things that wears out if not used.
So, for example: meetings start on time, commitments are kept, deadlines are met, teamwork prevails, people come with solutions not just problems, mistakes are accepted but transparency is non-negotiable, "bad news first," etc.
7) Communicate a lot, but simply and consistently
In the beginning was the word! Communication is an essential act of leadership that accompanies and underlies action. Explaining, delegating, training, motivating, congratulating: everything ultimately comes down to words. Communication must therefore be constant throughout the 100 days. And it cannot be delegated. The boss must embody the change they propose.
However, be wary of grand speeches and lyrical pronouncements: today, grand pronouncements and appeals to values are no longer heard. Similarly, arriving as a savior and overusing the notion of legacy will often backfire. No grand media show or theatrics are needed.
Effective communication must be simple, concrete, and close to the ground. A few symbolic images or measures can reinforce the message.
Good communication is above all about consistency: consistency between words and actions, between internal and external communication, between injunctions and example. Only announce what can be kept, otherwise remain silent.
These are just a few rules among the 50 proposed in this book, but they seem to me among the most important and general. Of course, these are not ready-made recipes that guarantee success. The experience and personality of the new manager, their suitability for these new roles, are decisive. But anyone who forgets these principles significantly harms their chances of success, both immediate and long-term. Because the first impression lasts a long time.
Frédéric Marquette.
Link to the book page
Recently published by Leduc.s editions / À CONTRE-COURANT Collection
PRICE: €20 (and €13.99 digital)
Number of pages: 208
Huffingtonpost.fr
Published September 17, 2014.
Posted online September 29, 2014.
