I was blindfolded and had been spinning for what had seemed like minutes but was in reality, only a few seconds as I pushed in towards the donkey. I was dizzy and had no idea if I was even going in the right direction. I wanted to cheat so I could have a chance at winning but the blindfold was on too tight. In the end I just stuck the pin anywhere, hoping that I was close to the target.
Recently I was working with a new leader in a company. This leader had been promoted to GM and was now in charge of all aspects of the business from marketing to finance. The leader, who had come from a different location, was familiar with the business but not the specifics of this site. She told me that her head was spinning trying to process so much new information and she wasn't sure she could continue.
Here in North America the trend is to promote leaders from within a company. The benefits of this are many, including an understanding of the culture of the organization by the new manager, and the fact that the company knows the strengths and weaknesses of the promoted employee. Because there is a familiarity with the manager who is moving to a higher leadership position, there is an assumption that they will just "get on with the job" in the new position. This assumption can lead to problems.
The challenge for these new leaders is that they are being set up for failure because of a lack of support. In an entry level management position often, there is a training component, but move someone from a mid management to CEO, CFO, or GM (the big bosses) and we forget that we need to adequately train them to ensure are able to "get on with the job". According to research it takes 3-4 years for a leader to figure out how to be effective and competent in a new position. Like the game 'pin the tail on the donkey' they are floundering as they try to figure out how to advance.
In order to ensure a speedy transition to effective leadership within a multifaceted business, we need to ensure that our new leaders have a competent grasp of the 14 areas of the business. These 14 crucial areas are: sales, marketing, leadership, strategic planning, financial management, human resources, customer experience, business systems/operations, communications, coaching, choice (Time) management, gross profit maximization, management fundamentals and personal effectiveness.
Usually our leaders have competencies in some of these areas but lack a clear understanding of others. We promote a sales manager, marketing manager, accountant, or operations manager to a GM position and assume that they will naturally be successful there. We forget that there are different skills involved and fail to train or give time for the development of those business skills that are critical to the leader's success or the ability of our business to thrive.
As I started working with my client in focusing on developing one area of understanding and competency a month, it became clear that she would be able to succeed in the new business. Her ability to manage people and unforeseen situations, rapidly improved, and her success in achieving change was no longer impeded by her lack of procedural clarity. One of the biggest factors was her reduced stress level. This decreased the risk to the company, of her departure, considering all that they had invested in her.
The cost of extended learning curves and frustrated organizations can be mitigated when we take the blinders off and give our new leaders the ability to see clearly the direction in which they need to go to hit their targets. 'Pin the tail on the donkey' is great at birthday parties but should be left outside the business realm if we want our new leaders to become the great leaders they are capable of being.
Dave Fuller MBA, Certified Professional Business Coach and Strategist, is the Author of the book Profit Yourself Healthy. Are your new managers heading off blindfolded? Email [email protected]
