Five Principles for Successful Leadership Transitions

There is nothing quite like the anticipation and hope of a new beginning. When a new leader is announced—whether from inside the organization or outside—it triggers both excitement and nervousness. Excitement about new possibilities, directions, behaviors, and ideas; nervousness about how the new leader might change how things get done and impact norms, legacy jobs, and relationships. The challenge for leaders as they assume a new role, is to capitalize on the excitement and minimize the fear.

As a coach who has worked with many leaders over the years as they prepare for and assume new roles, I have seen several practices that maximize excitement and minimize trepidation in leadership transitions. I will share five of the most significant here:

1. Know your stakeholders.

The single most urgent and important work of your first 30 days is finding out who your key stakeholders are and what they want and need from you and your team. There are obvious stakeholders that no one forgets to connect with like direct reports, bosses, and direct customers. The difference between average leaders and great leaders is that the great leaders go deeper. They want to know what investors and analysts are talking about and expecting, what current and potential customers hope for, what regulators and local communities anticipate.

As you meet with stakeholders, ask questions to help you understand if change is needed and, if it is, the pace that change needs to move at: What results are most important to them? What are their biggest concerns about how things are going today? Where do they hope to be in 6-9 months? In 3-5 years? Are there key metrics that you need to hit? What do they think is the biggest barrier to getting the required results?

It is also important to ask questions that help you understand how to work well in the new environment: What team and organization dynamics should I be aware of? What kind of information do you want from me and how do you like to receive it? How have decisions been made?  What could be improved? How can I best get feedback from you on a regular basis? What advice do you have for me to be successful? Who else should I be talking to? What expectations might be less explicit but still important? Who has power and influence and how do they use it?

Finally, understand that your team, peers, and others also want to get to know you. Share elements of your leadership journey, personality, and leadership philosophy that helps create authentic relationships and establish high-level expectations.

Key actions:

• Meet with a wide range of stakeholders inside and outside the organization.
• Synthesize findings and test as you go.
• Identify and build relationships with opinion shapers that will help you succeed.

2. Balance change with stability.

One common temptation following initial stakeholder meetings is to try and address everything at once. While it is sometimes the case that new leaders are expected to completely overhaul their organization, more often the need is for evolution rather than transformation.

Using information from stakeholder conversations (#1 above), quickly identify areas of both stability and change. Get clear about what is working well and where focus or change is needed. This allows for clear direction, creates deeper engagement, reduces anxiety and resistance, and eases the transition.  Some leaders create action lists with three columns, things to [1] do more of [2] do less of, [3] leave the same.  

Even when the expectation is for total transformation, finding existing strategies, stakeholder needs, or organizational values to anchor and explain the transformation can have significant positive impacts on buy-in and speed.

Key actions:

• Recognize not everyone will be excited about the change you represent.
• Be as clear as possible about where change is needed and what opportunities that change will bring.
• Even if the change will be significant, find ways to anchor it in existing strategy or values.

3. Keep it simple.

Recognize that your team needs clear and simple messages about what today’s priorities should be and about where the organization is headed in the future. Generally speaking, what people want to know is why, and how will it affect me.  If that understanding comes in the form of how to make the organization better, and not your personal preferences, acceptance will be quicker. Be conscious and deliberate about using your understanding and experience to strip away unnecessary details and create clarity, focus, and understanding. Translate your compelling future vision into concrete and doable daily actions.

Leonardo da Vinci is said to have said that “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”  For simplicity to have credibility it must be derived from an understanding of the complexity of how the organization and its external environment works. Seek information that allows you to enrich your understanding of the business environment. And, at this moment of transition especially, you should feel an urgent need to expand your mental models to help you make good decisions in your new role. Then use these mental models to more effectively anticipate and prepare simple responses to the complexity of the future.

Key actions:

• Identify no more than 2-3 areas for change and balance it with 2-3 areas where things are working well.
• Focus priorities on what will deliver value to the key stakeholders and clearly communicate that connection.
• Don’t rely solely on what you know from previous roles or organizations.

4. Calibrate constantly.

Sometimes I see leaders who are extremely open, curious, and active in seeking information and perspective as they assume their new role but then seem to forget that the world we live in today is in constant flux. Team member engagement, customer expectations, economic realities, analyst perspectives, and leadership priorities follow a constantly evolving storyline.

As you begin to act in the new role, you will want and need ongoing input and others will have additional insights, direction, and guidance as they see you in action. In addition to stakeholder touchpoints, leaders who are successful keep in close contact with the external world. They use that understanding to inform and adapt strategies and priorities for their organization and to enable better decision-making.  Information may come from formal surveys, informal observation, engaging influencers in conversations, as well as data and analysis.

For some, this curiosity and thirst for understanding comes naturally, for others it requires deliberate focus and effort. For everyone, it requires discipline and dedicated time to learn and reflect.

Key actions:

• Set expectations during the initial stakeholder touchpoints that this is the beginning of an ongoing conversation—then follow up with regular touchpoints.
• Use robust external networks and other sources (news, podcasts, books, journals, etc.) to continue to expand and enrich understanding of the external environment.
• Schedule calendar time for these activities and prioritize it.