You’ve accepted the offer and negotiated your start date. Now what?

If you plan to show up and do your best, you’re still thinking like an individual contributor.

As a leader, you’re being watched by a jumble of people in your group and across the organization who are excited and fearful about how their world will change because of the decisions you make. They are studying you from the moment you set foot inside the company or get on your first conference call.

You want to be in learning mode, but you can’t start clueless. So what will you do between now and your start date to set yourself up for success?

1. Look more deeply

You researched before you began to interview, diving into public sources and pumping your network for information. Now it’s time to inquire more deeply, to change your question from “Do I want to work for this company?” to “How can I thrive as a leader in this company?” and “What does my team need to do to succeed? Ask for any significant internal documents you can read ahead of time—business plan, product roadmap, budget, whatever is relevant to understanding your group.

2. Draft your strategic one-pager

Write a coherent one-page summary of the state and trends of your industry, company, division/function, and team. Given this, how can your teams – your peer team as well as your direct reports – create more value?

3. Write your own onboarding plan

Follow the lead of Michael Thompson, an experienced senior executive who writes his 120-day plan before he starts. His plan makes a handy discussion-starter for that final interview with the CEO, as well as a guide to those whirlwind first weeks.

4. Build relationships before you start

From Offer Day to Start Day, never have coffee alone. Engage with people in your new world as early as possible.
When one of my interviewees was promoted to VP of Engineering at a global software company, he headed to the airport to go see his former peers in several countries—before the promotion announcement. He spent a day 1:1 with each key team member at a comfortable spot out of the office, sharing his thoughts about where to take the company, gaining input, and helping each see a positive future with his leadership.

5. Freshen up

What do you absolutely need to clean up before you start? Your task management system? Your car? Your relationship? If you’ve got a personal issue to solve in the next three months, see if you can get it 80% handled before you start. Calendar the top things that keep you healthy and sane, such as working out and getting good sleep.

6. Navigate the technology-switch trap

You come into a new role, raring to make strategic decisions. Instead, you spend hours trying to make your new Android talk to your company-issued Windows laptop and your home Mac so you can access critical files in the company’s proprietary info-management system. Before your start, figure out what programs you’ll need for calendar, tasks, and access to company data, learn any crucial new programs, and plan the technology transition.

Whether you have a day or a month before you start: learn what you can, develop initial hypotheses about what’s going on, identify your top focus areas, and make your plan. Then, be intensely open to learning more and rethinking your plan.

For guidance on what to do your first week on the job, see Rule 5 “Take Charge of Your Start” in 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager.

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I recently came across a new data set on onboarding practices. In “Welcome Aboard,” Brian Taliesin of Intrepid Learning breaks down the results of their 2011 Onboarding Survey, which probed 50 organizations of various sizes and industries about their onboarding processes and timelines.  While the sample set was informally drawn, the results are consistent with what I see in the San Francisco Bay Area. The report is info-graphically amusing, yet draws some not so humorous conclusions about where employers fall short.

According to the report, just 19% of companies surveyed start their onboarding process “after acceptance but before start”, and another 8% start in recruitment. In my experience, the remaining 73% are missing the boat by starting onboarding too late. In 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager, I encourage leaders to start their own onboarding process before their first day on the job (See especially Rules 2 and 5). Early onboarding, thoughtfully done, accelerates time to productivity. And, as the best job-seekers gain more and more offers in this improving economy, you’re less likely to lose pre-start employees when you engage them before their start date.

The report reveals that only 24% of companies surveyed evaluate their onboarding program by time to productivity, and only 13% measure onboarding success with performance feedback (from 360 or a mentor) – these rates strike me as low, since these are metrics that get to the core of what you want from your programs: high performance as early as possible.

Despite likening the current state of onboarding to the ill-fated S.S. Minnow of Gilligan’s Island, Intrepid Learning’s report offers hope by highlighting better onboarding practices. The model they use is helpful in diagnosing where to invest: Compliance (the least related to productivity yet the most widely covered), Clarification, Culture, Connection, and Continuity. I especially encourage you to start demystifying Culture (how we do things around here) and Connection (who you need to know to get stuff done) early in the process.

You can download the report by Brian Taliesin from his post Beat the New Hire Blues — click “Onboarding Research Results” for the pdf.

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More affordable than a Tumi briefcase…

More lasting than a steakhouse Groupon…

Give your grad 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager.

Whether your grad will be team leader at Windsurfing Camp or Associate at McKinsey, this book offers practical guidance they can use this summer and for the rest of their careers. Just $19.95 on Amazon, $9.95 Kindle.

Let’s help new leaders be successful from the start!

Enjoy, and spread the word.

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Now it’s your turn: What are YOUR rules for new leaders?

Share ‘em here by commenting on this post.

(Yes, I will moderate, so keep ‘em clean and helpful.)

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1. My rules for new leaders

42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager
by Pam Fox Rollin

CONTENTS

Foreword by John A. Byrne

Introduction

Part I Set Yourself Up For Success

Rule 1 Rules Are Meant to Be Broken

Rule 2 Begin Ready

Rule 3 Fire Up Your Task Management System

Rule 4 Draft Your Strategic One-Pager

Rule 5 Take Charge of Your Start

Part II Map the Terrain

Rule 6 Leverage the Honeymoon

Rule 7 Map What Matters to People with Power

Rule 8 Uncover Precisely How Your Group Creates Value

Rule 9 Figure Out What to Prove by When

Rule 10 Set Your Milestones

Part III Show Up Wisely

Rule 11 Apply Your Strengths— and Beware

Rule 12 Deal with Your Weak Spots

Rule 13 (Re)Introduce Yourself Internally & Externally

Rule 14 Don’t Blame the Last Guy

Rule 15 Show People How to Work with You

Rule 16 Get Over Yourself

Part IV Start Your Wins

Rule 17 Pick Smart Quick Wins

Rule 18 Plant Seeds for Future Wins

Rule 19 Tune Up Your Team

Rule 20 Communicate Early and Often

Rule 21 Tell a Good Story

Rule 22 Bring Value to Any Room

Rule 23 Balance Curiosity, Advice, and Silence

Part V Create Your Management System

Rule 24 Make Your Own Metrics

Rule 25 Catalog Risks and Start Mitigating

Rule 26 Run Unmissable Meetings

Rule 27 Adjust Your Approach

Rule 28 Launch 1:1s that Actually Drive Performance

Rule 29 Make the Most of Screwups

Rule 30 Grow More Leaders

Rule 31 Call in the Experts

Part VI Stay Smart

Rule 32 Strengthen Your Strategic Point of View

Rule 33 Stay Current and Capable

Rule 34 Model Healthy Paranoia

Rule 35 Ferret Out Feedback

Rule 36 Build Your Industry Presence

Part VII Set You and Your Team To Thrive

Rule 37 Make Your Job Doable

Rule 38 Stoke the Energy of Your Group

Rule 39 Mind Your Mood

Rule 40 Now, Lead with Your Life in Mind

Rule 41 Use Your Power for Good

Rule 42 These Are My Rules. What Are Yours?

Appendix A For Job Seekers

Appendix B Hiring? How to Use this Book

Appendix C For Executive Coaches

Appendix D Myers-Briggs® and More

Appendix E Online Resources

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Listen here!

You’ll hear us chatting about the challenges of learning while leading, getting out of your office to see what’s really going on (“gemba”), and taking on the tough conversations your team needs to have.

And of course, we talked about my new book – 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role: The Manual They Didn’t Hand You When You Made VP, Director, or Manager. The book officially launches May 6. [But, hey, if you need it before that, it's already popping up on Amazon!]

I really enjoy Karl’s show. You can keep up with latest episodes on Facebook and iTunes (search for “Lean Nation”).

Pam

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1. TODAY on The Lean Nation radio show!

I will be a guest TODAY on the world famous The Lean Nation radio show  from noon-1PT on 790 AM Talk and Business, hosted by Karl Wadensten.  We’re going to discuss making new leaders successful.  This is an important topic, and I’m looking forward to sharing insights on air to a wide audience of business leaders and change agents.

The show is globally available via a live audio stream at http://790business.com//sectional.asp?id=35739 .  I would love to hear your opinions and answer your questions, so feel free to call in to the show.  The call-in number is 401-437-5000 or toll free at 888-345-0790.

About my book for new hires and promotes
42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role (available May 2011), offers practical and effective actions to make your strongest start at your new VP, Director, or Manager job.
(Pre-orders now open)

Let this book help you avoid common missteps, remind you what you did right before, and give you new strategies for acing those critical first months. Buy this book when you’re making a step up, moving to a new organization, or for your friends as they move up. You’ll also find it an ideal reference for executive coaches, mentors, HR business partners, management trainers, and others who help new leaders be successful.

About the Lean Nation show
The Lean Nation is the hottest show on 790AM and features real world examples and actionable advice from lean and business thought leaders on how to reinvent yourself into a lean operation in business and in life.  The show runs every Tuesday from 3-5pm!The show’s host, Karl Wadensten, is the president of VIBCO, a Rhode Island manufacturing company. Over the last 8 years VIBCO has created a Lean Revolution, using lean methodologies (based on the Toyota Production System).

To hear the show as a podcast, go to iTunes and subscribe to The Lean Nation. I’ve just started listening, and it’s a terrific show for everyone driving change, whether in manufacturing or not. Karl’s passion for great business, his depth of knowledge, and the excellent guests make this show well worth your time.

Make your strong start
If you’d like to connect with me directly about how you can succeed as new VP, Director, or Manager – or help new leaders in your company be more successful – call us at 408-245-2600.

Pam

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We mused whether the pace of market and technology disruptions have accelerated to the point where there is no there. Where no longer can we say, “we are setting out to accomplish X” and create a meaningful plan to achieve this.

“North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa. Don’t forget Austraaaa-lia. Don’t forget Antaaaarc-tica,” chants my 5 year old to a tune learned in Kindergarten. Our little guy knows the shapes of each continent, but his 8 year old brother knows those coastline shapes will change – not 15,000 years from now, but by the time he’s an adult and an architect or comedian or whatever. He can see almost anywhere on Google Earth, but he does not expect anywhere to look the same by the time he gets there.

What will it mean to lead people utterly without the expectation of continuity?

We can no longer say, “do this, and it will lead to that.”
We must rethink the fundamentals of how leadership is done.

• How will leaders inspire and align action, without committing to an unknowable future?
• How will networks of people collaborate when their common objectives are a moving target? (I suggest Nilofer Merchant’s The New How for insight into collaboration across organizational levels and boundaries.)
• Without the carrot of defined career levels and accompanying goodies, how will people be motivated to invest in building skills and depth of knowledge early in their careers?
• How will customers know what to expect from us?

As Ellen and I talked we centered on what we can say, roughly “We know who we are and what matters to us. We intend to engage a certain set of people in conversations and a stream of value. We will stay fully awake and nimble in serving them.“

I’d be glad to hear your thoughts.

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I will be on vacation April 23 – May 7.  Usually, when I’m on vacation, I maintain some phone and email contact. This time, I plan to be wholly unplugged.

Please contact me in the next couple days if there’s something you may need while I’m gone.  You’re welcome to send emails which I will check when I get back… feel free to mark yours Highest Priority if you would like me to read it first thing when I return.

If you have an urgent need to reach me, please contact my assistant.  She has emergency numbers for the houses we’re renting.

Outside of this break for reflection and adventure, I am delighted to have each of you in my life!

Mahalo (thank you) and Aloha,
Pam

To my surprise I received dozens of messages back… mostly “I want to do this!” Then clients kept asking me “How?” Was it possible we’re so used to being fully available that we’ve forgotten how to extract ourselves for a couple weeks?

So I wrote these seven simple steps, later picked up by Ritz-Carlton magazine.  If you want a real break these holidays, go for it!

1. Determine what unplugged means to you.
You’ll be completely unreachable? Your assistant and family will be able to contact you with urgent matters? You’ll check voicemail or a designated email every few days? Will you be using social media? In private or public forums?

2. Set expectations with anyone you must.
More and more companies expect leaders at any level to be reachable on vacation. If you want to go absolutely unplugged,  or even unattached from email, make sure you’ve got air cover.

3. Lay the groundwork.
- Organize your projects so key milestones are hit before your vacation.
- Create owners for ongoing work and loose ends.- Make sure critical documents are on project management platforms or in a dropbox.
- Set up a decision tree for how to handle incoming issues.
As always, your team members may follow your example, so do your best to leave cleanly.

4. Talk directly with your key contacts.

5.  Handle the logistics
- Include your vacation dates as a footnote to emails and workplans.
- Leave a clear message/responder with the date you’ll be back and whom to contact in the interim.
- If you really don’t want messages, consider setting your voicemail not to accept them.
- Notify frequent correspondents that you’ll be unavailable by email during that period, and/or having a trusted associate screen your emails for anything urgent.

6. Stick to it!
The planet functioned fine before you got here. It will be OK while you take a break.

7. Give yourself a day when you get home.
Before the onslaught of “now that you’re back” calls, take a day to plow through email, voicemail, critical social media. Delete everything that’s questionable and tackle the rest in priority order.

Glad to hear your thoughts.
Pam

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WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO YOU TO…  Start smart in your next role? Bring out the best around you? Gain strategic advantage from diversity?

Contact us info@ideashape.com for executive coaching, seminars, talent development, facilitation, MBTI sessions to help you and your team achieve goals faster and more easily.

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• Peter Aceto, CEO, ING Direct Canada
• Miriam Rivera, former VP-Legal at Google & now Ulu Ventures
• Bruce McNamer, President of TechnoServe
• Captain Alwyn Landry, who led the rescue of all 115 survivors of the Deepwater Horizon
• John A. Byrne, former editor in chief of Fast Company, founder Poets & Quants

We’ve also had some terrific thought leaders including:

• Dan Pink, author of Drive
• Nilofer Merchant, author of The New How
• Marty Linsky, Harvard Kennedy School professor and co-author of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership

You can access the latest podcast right here on the IdeaShape site or subscribe for free via iTunes.

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1. Welcome to our new IdeaShape website!