CHALLENGES FACE A LEADER PROMOTED FROM WITHIN — HOW TO START
Getting promoted or taking on the leadership role — especially the CEO role — from an internal promotion is an awesome achievement. In addition, it is usually a great thing for the culture because it helps keep in tact that continuity of institutional knowledge. Often this promotion follows some intentional grooming or succession planning. If you are in this position, that is fantastic and it feels really good.
And it feels really good until you start doing the job.
The good feeling, for a new internally promoted CEO, fades a bit as you grapple with the amount of issues you have to deal with. Plus you are dealing with issues involving people who were your peers. Now those former peers are the people who are now going to be looking after and managing. It is now your job to hold them accountable in a different dynamic — and that dynamic is influenced by the fact that you are sitting at your predecessor’s desk, inviting comparisons between your performance and an often high bar to live up to — or issues to fix because of the baggage that comes from the previous leader’s poor past performance. Either way, the shadow of the past falls on you.
You soon begin to realize that there are some things you can control or sort out and own, and there are other things that are happening that aren’t really up to you. So, navigating all of that can be tricky and overwhelming.
I would offer a couple of things to think about for that new leader recently promoted into the CEO role — or any leadership role. Start with the the fundamentals: it is a new team now and you want to honor the past and legacy of the leader before you, and be thankful and grateful for that service and for that work. That said, you need to shift to transition to what the new state will look like given your new direction.
This starts with the new team— with you spending time with them one on one as well as in a group setting. And remember, it is just going to take some time. Lots of books are written about US Presidents and the first 100 day. A great one that I recommend is called the 1st 90. Having a 90-day plan, and maybe a couple of 90 day plans, allows you to assess with your new CEO lens.
Taking that time is important because you are on stage now. So find ways to allow yourself to be authentic — be yourself. As the new CEO, you are the team leader and everything you do and say will be either overtly or subtly viewed as a signal. What you do, what you say, how you say it, will be meaningful to the team that’s following you, and to the rest of the organization.
So, start at the start: that first 30 days needs to be about assessing the team with really fresh eyes. Look at the whole organization, the business plan, the strategy, and the culture. I see a lot of leaders doing new assessments at this time.
The time can also focus on culture review and customer review.I think customer visits — a dedicated external focus — is really important as well because it helps you understand and retap into the market that you play in. So, getting together with your key customers, your key strategic partners, and really understanding the whole dynamic from the end customer through your vendors and suppliers is extremely valuable.
I recommend devoting 25 to 30% of your time externally focused on market the customers, and then another 25 to 30% of your time on your team and leadership. The balance can be focused on big stakeholders, your banking and finance relationships, your investors, and your board.
So there are really four broad buckets to think about in the first 90 days:
- Internal Team
- Customers — the state of the union so to speak
- External market — key partners, vendors and financial sources
- Broader team and other stakeholders
What you gain from looking at all four groups will allow you to make smart adjustments to your strategic plan. The health of your team, the caliber of talent, the newness of that team you are now forming — will all benefit as you build and invest in healthy key relationshipS.
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