Promotion and Responsibility

Breaking new ground triggers excitement, nerves, opportunity and pressure to perform.  Feelings can vary under different circumstances and from person to person.

For example, when managing people for the first time, especially ex-peers, trepidation can be strong.  This is despite your responsibilities being allocated on merit and the change being what you wanted.

Commonly, in these circumstances we look at what you want to achieve in the first phase of your role, say 90 days.  Is it stability for your area?  Trust amongst your stakeholders?  Or a more specific target such as remediation of a compliance issue?  Also, when there are numerous objectives, what positives will they each bring and which comes first?

It is worth noting that focusing on benefits, rather than what you want to avoid, is an important approach in retaining your determination and motivation.

Next, what has worked before?  What have you observed and what works for you?  What have you done so far?  This is not about best practice, but what resonates with you.  What do YOU believe in (or not) and so what will you stick at?  (This is more important than best practice management theory.)

Then, what could you do?  If you had all the time in the world, all the staff, all the support etc.?  This probing phase will draw out new ideas as well as limiting beliefs that we will then explore and possibly unpack.

Finally, what will you commit to doing, not in the future but now?  How will you get the ball rolling?  Exactly what will you do and by when?

Most sessions follow a similar cycle, often building on the initial momentum and learnings; the learnings often being the most important step.  As a result, your goals may change, as well as your clarity and confidence such that improbable goals become probable and sometimes obsolete.