rabbijaffe

It always fascinates me when someone new takes on a leadership role in an organization.

1. Many assume the organization has functioned up until this point, so why not just continue things as they have always been.

2. Others assume they were brought in for a reason, therefore they take a deep look at everything that’s already there, do a lot of research, continue on with what works, and strategically alter whatever they deem needs to be changed.

3. Some combine these ides, sitting back and watching everything for a year or so, only to make their strategic alterations after the wait.

I’m a big fan of the second or third approach (although I do think there are times where it might be appropriate to apply the first one). They seem to be the most well-rounded and ultimately beneficial ways of approaching this new role.   

But then there is the subject of my post:

4. I’ve watched people arrive as the new boss in a new location, hands on their hips, looking out at the building with a smirk and the classic look on their face that says:

Thank God I’ve arrived. This place surely could not survive another minute without my wisdom. I’m here to save the day! I’m here to strip this institution of everything it knows, and piece it back together with the only vision that could ever possibly work: My own!

Several reasons why this approach is headed for failure:

a. You’re probably wrong. 

The odds that the chaos you perceive is to the extent that you’re perceiving it is extraordinarily slim. No one is qualified to determine that something needs to be torn down and rebuilt from scractch just from an initial glance or two.  

b. People can’t handle change.

We have entered into a post-Obama world where everybody thinks the people around them want and can handle change. But facts are facts. People hate change, even changes that are ultimately for a positive purpose. Too much change too quickly will make everyone around you terribly uncomfortable. Slow and steady, just like everything else in life that ultimately succeeds.

c. There are many ways to accomplish goals.

It is nothing short of pure arrogance to assume that you hold in your pocket the one and only solution to all perceived problems. Perhaps the methods you are about to use to “save the world” have already been attempted, and have already failed. Perhaps someone else has an even better idea than yours, but previous leadership prevented its implementation. Perhaps there’s a good reason why others in the past have chosen not to deal with the problem, and you’re just lacking full information.

Fact gathering and employee participation are fundamental in making smooth changes.

d. Demoralization of the old guard.

Nothing demoralizes a staff quicker than to make it look like everything they’ve done before your arrival was a useless failure that needs to be discarded. I’ve said it before: The staff is the backbone. Ruin their morale, and the machine crashes.

e. Just too darn difficult.

Change brought in slow, thought out pieces over the course of a long period of time is not only the only way it will actually work; it is the only way you’ll survive. When your plate’s too full you make unnecessary mistakes, you overlook essential details, you prioritize incorrectly, and you construct a building with a shaky foundation.

Watch, ask, listen, learn, and slowly work toward a foundation that will last forever. 

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