Four tips for success in a new executive position

The uncomfortable truth about executive transitions is that they often fail. 

Change, after all, is hard, and the degree of change involved in a transition can be considerable. A useful rule of thumb to calculate the amount of change that a transition will entail and thus loosely predict an executive’s likelihood of success or failure is to consider the extent to which the new role differs from the old one. 

Today’s executives have more extensive personal networks and more information at their fingertips than at any point in history, and they almost always start the job with considerable foreknowledge about the company and how it operates. Yet transitions remain difficult. 

What, then, do successful executives do differently? For starters, they bring the same thoroughness and rigor to the transition that they initially did to the vetting and due diligence phase. 

And they do so in a structured way, focusing careful attention on four areas where a fast start is most critical and where no amount of preparation can ever fully replace the power of personal experience. These areas include:

Aligning with the culture
When it comes to company culture, your first set of actions in a new job helps cement your reputation. It is thus crucial that you quickly understand the way that things get done in the new organisation; you cannot necessarily adhere to what has worked for you in the past. 

Slowing down your judgment and reflexive action in favour of a more reflective and inquisitive understanding of the new culture can be a more effective approach and lessen your risk of derailment.

Understanding the strategic agenda
The interview process naturally reveals a lot about the company’s strategy, value proposition, and key differentiators in the market, so new leaders almost never step into a new position blind. 

Nevertheless, it is almost a guarantee that there will be elements to the company’s agenda or resources that you weren’t able to learn about before your first day. Moreover, strategy is not immutable—the arrival of a new competitor, a regulatory change, or even new information all but guarantees that agility will be required.

Establishing team and management practices
As noted previously, transitioning leaders must promptly establish a relationship with their team. Similarly, you need to think carefully about the logistics and processes of your team and your management style. 

Implementing clear practices, such as protocols for team meetings, will help ensure that everyone is aligned and knows what to expect. For example, you need to be clear about who’s expected to be at what meetings, how feedback will be offered, and how decisions are made, including who will be in the room for what types of decisions.

Developing strong stakeholder relationships
The value of meeting with people and forming partnerships with colleagues early cannot be overstated. 

Executives rely on influence as much as any other skill; as such, entering a new role requires that executives expend considerable energy building relationships that will earn them “influence capital” in the organisation. 

You must reestablish the internal brand equity that you undoubtedly built up in your previous position, earning the trust and support of the company’s crucial stakeholders.

A successful transition is marked by establishing buy-in and support within the organisation through relationships with the right people, including the stakeholders who have influence across adjacent business units.