Jill was a new leader in a new role within the health industry. The team had been together for a while and they had seen three other managers come and go within the last two years. The team had been cut from 9 to 7 people, but was still expected to provide the same level of service, plus there were technology systems changes that they had to adapt too. They understood the rationale with these various changes, but found adapting difficult. The team had a reputation as not performing at a high level, and being a bit insular. Maybe you couldn’t blame them given the disruption of leadership and in other areas.
As Jill walked into her bare office she didn’t quite know where to start. From what she had heard from her boss when she had been appointed there was going to be quite a bit of resistance and an attitude of “prove yourself†from the team. This was quite intimidating for Jill. Jill was very competent and a natural leader but was newish to managing a team.
Fortunately Jill had a great boss, John that she had previously worked for and really admired. Jill went to see her old boss John for some advice about how to build confidence in her as a leader and get the team to be high performing.
Jill told John about her excitement and fears. John listened with patience and empathy. He then pulled out a piece of paper and wrote the acronym: T.R.A.C.S
John asked, “What do you want to accomplish?” It was a very open ended question, Jill didn’t know where to start. “Well, I think there are two things,” Jill hesitantly offered, “I want the team to work well with me and each other. This is really important because there have been some tensions in the past with managers. The other thing I want to accomplish is that we deliver really good results. I want to make sure we are really professional and highly regarded around the place.”
John asked “Good, that is a great start. How will you know when you have achieved these two goals?” This floored Jill, she had never thought about this question. John continued, “See if you don’t know what ‘success’ looks like you are much less likely to achieve it. You need to know, as clearly as possible, what you are trying to achieve. You have said there are two goals, 1. Create a cohesive team, 2. Deliver High Outputs. You need to be able to answer the questions of: What does a cohesive team look like? What is it doing or not doing?” John said, with a smile as Jill was furiously writing. “Simple? You also need to know: What are the markers of delivering superior performance? New leaders often don’t get clear enough up front and then they are scrabbling to catch up from the beginning. Once you have a clear picture of what you are aiming at in the short to medium term the next step is to create a pathway to achieve it. That is why I have written the work T.R.A.C.S. There are 5 keys to develop a pathway towards your goals. I was told about when I first started as a leader and they have helped me each time I have started in a new role. In fact every time I have started a new role I have used this process. Does that make sense so far Jill?”
“Absolutely, I knew I had to make some goals. I really like the idea of picturing what it looks like and getting clear about that. I guess that makes it easier to communicate to others as well. I’m keen to hear about the process you use to start well.”
“Okay. Now let’s be clear, you need to do it your way. These are principles that you need to make your own and apply within the way you want to do things not how I have done them.”
“T stands for TRANSPARENT COMMUNICATION
We build trust through sharing information, frequent communication, in order to get rid of the politics in the team. It shows respect for people’s intelligence.
Encouraging confidence in your leadership is critical to produce performance. When the people who work in your team are confident in your leadership motives then things start to flow. When people are suspicious of motivations the best you can hope for is compliance. The quickest way to dispel concern or suspicion is to be really open with people.
New leaders are often tempted to shy away from difficult conversations early. This is a mistake. Setting up clear, transparent communication is critical to set expectations, reduce politics and increase trust.
Of course, the communication needs to go both ways. Ask those who have been around a while for their perspectives and input. When you hear negative things don’t react. The worst sin you can do is say you want to consult with people but you have already made up your mind on what you think needs to be done. Consultation needs to be genuine or else you tell people what you are thinking and ask for feedback.
Jill asked, “If you are new and you are being open with people can’t there be a risk that they will get upset with and not like you.”
“Great observation”, John replied, “The question is, do you want to be liked first or respected first? If you want to be liked first it will often mean you will avoid things. If you wan to be respected first, you won’t avoid things because you want to do the best for the whole team.”
“That leads us to the second part….
RESPECT THE PAST
As a new leader or in a new role, know that everything you do communicates something. People are watching you closely to pick up a sense of who you are, what you believe in, how you operate and most of all – can they trust you. The messages people get from your early actions impact the confidence they will have in your leadership for many years to come. In everything you do, you need to communicate honesty, enthusiasm and a confident attitude.
The temptation, as a new leader, is to distinguish yourself from the last leader. I see many leaders pointing out the failures of the last leader or leaders. They are trying to bolster their standing and want to be seen as the ‘white knight’ coming to save a hopeless situation. This is fraught with problems.
Firstly, you don’t know the loyalties that are in place between those remaining and the past manager.
Secondly, you are probably diagnosing a complex problem and proposing a simplistic solution. It is insulting to everyone involved.
Thirdly, you are setting up the seeds of your own destruction. How you judge others is also how you are going to be judged. Think about the culture you want to create. If you want to create a critical, one-upmanship’ culture then criticising the people who went before you is a sure way to go about it. Realise that you will make mistakes and aren’t the perfect leader. One day you wont be in the same leadership chair. Treat others as you would hope to be treated when you are gone.
This does not mean you have to ignore issues. You can diagnose things that need to change without bad mouthing those before you.
Jill’s face suddenly became animated as a light came on. Jill remembered a leader she had worked for who had constantly badmouthed the past leader. At first the team was excited that things would change but over time they came to see that many things were just the same. Worse, it set up a culture of blaming and not taking responsibility within the whole team. Jill had always wondered how it had happened.
“Wow, I never thought how important honouring the past and how dangerous it could be. What is the next step?â€
“Ah said John, one of my favourites….but unfortunately I have another meeting I need to get too. Can I make a suggestion? How about you write down the answer to the questions I posed about, what success’ looks like within your goals.â€
“No problem,†Jill replied, “How about next Monday at lunchtime?â€