The New Boss: How to Survive the First 100 Days by Peter Fischer

Author:Peter Fischer [Fischer, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Management, Organizational Behavior, General, Leadership, Executive ability, Organizational effectiveness, Business & Economics, Executives
ISBN: 9780749447649
Publisher: Kogan Page Publishers
Published: 2007-06-28T04:00:00+00:00

92 ❙ Seven Building Blocks

TIMING IN LEADERSHIP TRANSITION

One of the most frequently asked questions in our seminars and consulting is when changes should start. Some people quickly put themselves under time pressure; others hesitate because they have the impression that they do not know enough. Without realizing it, they are only inflating expectations.

Identifying the right point in time to initiate change is a key skill in handling a change in leadership successfully. First, you need to be sure that the organization is ready to undertake change. You should begin with change projects if:

• discussions and meetings with you have prepared the employees for change;

• important key relationships that you need for a successful change process have at least begun to develop; and

• a clear concept exists for the first steps.

Our experience has shown that this stage is reached after two to four months, depending on the magnitude of the task and the changes that are being considered. The outsider usually needs somewhat longer – more because the newcomer first needs to build the necessary network of relationships than because he or she is slow in acquiring the needed knowledge. The most impetuous new bosses are the insiders who appear with ready-made concepts and easily forget that they first have to communicate their level of knowledge.

Time is then the second criterion. It is definitely necessary to keep in mind that leadership transitions have a window of opportunity for change, a period during which the employees even expect it. The proverbial ‘100 days’ are a widely known image that is an expression of a widely shared expectation: employees want to know what is going to change. If you, as a new boss, exceed this time frame without apparent reason, you must be aware that the delay will entail a number of disadvantages:

• Expectations rise. Your employees start thinking ‘If it is taking so long for us to find out where things are headed, then it must be something really special.’

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