This is the second in a series about taking on a leadership role. Previously, we discussed doing all of your homework before you assume a leadership position. Now that you are firmly in the saddle, let’s discuss what to do in your first 100 days.
Have one-on-ones with all of your staff, and if possible, do so on their own turf.
You will want to get to know your people and understand what makes them tick. If you can meet them in a setting where they will feel comfortable, you will get them to open up more easily. The same holds true if you have multiple locations you are responsible for. Get out and see them as soon as possible. You will become more engrossed in your job as time goes on.
Remember God gave you two ears and one mouth.
Use them proportionally. That is the best advice for a leader stepping into an unfamiliar culture. You will be inundated by people who want to get to know you, influence you, manipulate you, sabotage you, or all of the above. Listen to understand, not to respond. And don’t believe everything that you are told, especially about why things are done the way they are or why they can’t be done a certain way. Institutional knowledge can be helpful, but it can also be an anchor holding people back from trying new ideas. Also, remember that there will be people who were either turned down for your role or have a vested interest in the way things currently are. They may even go so far as to sabotage you to ensure you fail. You need to be acutely aware of these people as you explore your responsibilities.
Trust, but verify.
When people explain how things are done or what the problems are, ask other people for their opinion. Talk to all of the stakeholders (i.e., customers and vendors). Better yet, go see for yourself.
Avoid sounding judgmental.
You will see things you do not understand or processes that you want to change immediately. Take your time and try to understand all of the factors that are influencing the decision or process. I had a truss plant manager teach me that. When he was new to a facility, he had a tendency to call out these things as he saw them, often saying, “Well, that’s stupid.” He quickly learned that this alienated the legacy staff. Eventually, he figured out that instead of saying stupid, if he said something was silly, it had a much less charged effect. So, identify the things you see that are “silly” and make a note to look into them later.
Don’t confuse the symptoms with the disease.
Look deeper into problems. The seemingly quick solution might fix the problem today, but not keep it from recurring. Look for root causes. Employ the 5 Why’s technique to determine the root cause problem. Keep asking a revised version of why as you obtain each answer. “Why is the customer unhappy? Why did we not get the delivery out on time? Why don’t drivers start before 7 a.m.? Why do we not have any Leads starting before 7 a.m.? Why can’t a Lead start at 6 a.m., and leave earlier in the day, and thus not incur overtime?”
Last, but most important:
Write down everything you observe, hear, and think about your new responsibilities.
Keep a separate notebook from your normal notes. In this notebook, write down all of the critical facts that you learn, the silly things that you see, and the critical issues that you know you need to address. Then make sure you refer back to this notebook at a minimum on each anniversary of the day you started. When I started a position leading a company, one of the things I wrote down was that the sales culture needed to be overhauled. As time progressed, I became more and more involved in the company when I looked back at my notebook some years later, and I was still dealing with all of the sales issues I had identified in those first 100 days.
