Thursday, January 24, 2008

New Leader Integration Process

"Meet the new boss, same as the old boss", The Who

Using a structured “New Leader Integration Process” can:

- Reduce the time that it takes a new leader and his or her new work team to begin to communicate more openly and freely, and build trust, inclusion, and collaboration

- Offer the new team the opportunity to surface, explore and discuss their perceptions with the new leader, focusing on needs and expectations, concerns and issues, team direction, goals, and current or anticipated projects.

- Increase and enhance the assimilation of the new leader and their new team, improving the new leaders’s learning curve and overall management effectiveness.

The Process
This is a facilitated meeting with team members and new leader that should take approximately 4 hours. The flow and process would potentially look like this:

1. Set Key Groundrules for session with leader and team members.

2. The leader leaves the room and a facilitator leads the next part with team members only. Write the following questions and team responses on a flipchart:

- What do we (think we) know about (name of new leader)? What have we heard?
- What would we like to know about (name)?
- What concerns do we have about (name) being here?
- What do we need most from (name)?
- What does (name) need to know about us?
- What problems/issues will (name) need to face/resolve in the first 60-90 days?

3. Break. Facilitator summarizes with new manager key points from the data gathered.

4. Team reconvenes with leader. Facilitator presents and leader responds to team’s responses.

5. Leader and team mutually decide on next steps needed to address any issue/concern.


e.c. said...

This will come in handy.

John G Agno said...


For new leaders in the C-suite, it is important that they have an "outside coach" to help them get onboard their new leadership role.

Onboarding, as the name implies, helps executives get a running start through coaching that assists them with detecting cultural nuances, accelerating strategic plans, and navigating the personality mine fields of their new teams.

Since no executive wants their boss or HR to know their weaknesses, it is vital to their self-awarenss that leadership onboarding be with an executive coach who has an arms length relationship with the corporation.

Leadership development is not an event but self-development over a period of on-the-job personal coaching.