If you’re just joining our MOOC with Me series: Power Onboarding, you’ll want to start here.

Power Onboarding. Module 1

Let’s get started.

Like the last series, this isn’t a summary. You’ll need to watch the videos and read the articles for my post to make sense.

As you know, I’m a leadership coach and work with clients on their leadership transitions. In this series I’ll focus on the elements that fit the work I do. There may be concepts I skip that are perfect for you, so I encourage you to capture those in your notes. And use during your transition prep.

This week I’m doing the first part of the Week 1 module. I’ll tackle the second part (Week 1 - Part 2) next week.

This week’s module has 3 short videos - all worth a watch. A lengthy article that’s worth a read - or at least check out the pictures. And a clever little planning tool that promises to keep us organized.

Here’s what stood out for me this week:

Article: When a New Manager Takes Charge.

Dated, small sample size, but still lots to love.

That transition model is thorough, eh? There’s 2 ways I’ll be using it:

1. Taking hold and immersion stages. Good to understand for the period I define as transition - those first 3-6 months.

2. Complete model: This is a bit of a find for me. I’ll be using this for transition prep as well as a career planning tool. Here’s how…..

For those of you with ambitions to make an impact, I see this model as a kind of roadmap. Think 90……..900 days roadmap.

To start, let's think of the ebb and flow of those first few years. There are “alternating phases of intense learning and intense action”. How could you organize your efforts, your team's efforts to maximize these rhythms? A simple consideration with potential for a big payoff.

Next, focus on fixing urgent issues in those first few months. But save the big stuff for later. You don’t know enough. By the end of the immersion phase, leaders have “greatly revised their idea of what they need to do”. And “can see patterns they didn't’ see before”. Obvious, right? But challenging to see in the franticness & demands of those first few months.

It seems to me that this model could offer a roadmap to ensure maximum impact for all your hard work. Now - you may already have this long-term view. But if not - this could serve as your roadmap - at least v 1.0.

A Few More Insights:

Insider vs Outsider: Insiders (promoted from within) act a bit earlier. Tend to be more successful (at senior levels). So if you’re an outsider - you may need to manage expectations from your boss/team regarding earlier interventions. And you’ll need to work harder to catch up.

Turnarounds: interesting point of view from turnaround leaders. They “knew they would have to redo later some of the changes they were making”. If you’re going into a situation that’s got some urgency behind it, this is good to know. And prepare your team/boss for.

Success vs Failure:

If you only take one thing away from the article, it should be this.... The most salient difference between success and failure was the “....quality of the new manager’s working relationships at the end of his first year”. Wow - I’m not sure I’ve ever worked with a client who’s put this #1 on their list. Let’s keep this top of mind as we go through the course.

The tough part about these relationships is that it's not as simple as just getting along. Almost half the subjects reported a conflict in style with their boss being a major problem. Often because of “less rational factors” such as what good management looks like. This means a fundamental difference in beliefs. A much more challenging problem than ensuring a good working relationship.

If you remember from The First 90 Days book series, there was a great case study on this. You can review it here. And keep it bookmarked - just in case.

Stay Put

Not about transitions, but important. In junior jobs, it’s fine to cycle through at a pretty quick pace. But as you get into more senior roles, you miss a lot of the best opportunities to learn and grow if you move often.

So find a place you can stay and learn - it’s a smart investment. Once you’re in senior roles, moving every few years could limit the skills and expertise you develop. Definitely something I’ll advise clients to consider in the future.

Videos:  

• Video 1.1: You'll be changing jobs a fair amount. Makes sense to build some skills on transitions. You'll be doing it a lot.

• Video 1.2: An overview about why preparing as much as possible before starting a new job matters. It’s all about accelerating that transition. This video offers a pretty thorough argument for that.

• Video 1.3: This video is a simple overview of the model from the article. Worth a look even if you’ve read the article.

Discussion & POP:

Confession time. I hate discussion forums, so I’ll be skipping these for the entire course. They don’t help me learn. But they may be perfect for you, so check them out.

I am intrigued by the Personal Onboarding Plan (POP). Looks like a nice simple way to organize tasks/information. Have you had a look at some of the examples?

Conclusion

Module 1.1: Great article. 3 short & sweet videos. And a planning template that looks promising.

We're off to a good start.

That’s it for Week 1 - Part 1

Next week — Week 1 - Part 2.

See ya next Friday