By Barb Ward
Every company wants, and needs, to have leaders who are successful at developing and maintaining high performance teams. These leaders are adept at motivating their staff to reach their greatest potential. They create loyalty and engagement, resulting in a good work environment and increased productivity for the organization. But the recipe to developing or attaining these types of leaders can be tricky. In fact, research from the Corporate Executive Board estimates that 50 to 70 percent of executives fail within 18 months of taking on a new role, regardless of whether they were an external hire or promoted from within. Forbes, March 13, 2020.
So, what can you do to ensure your organization has a process in place to support the success of your leaders? A new leader assimilation process and executive coaching for newly hired executives – whether they are an internal or an external candidate – can be key to providing your leaders with the tools and resources they need to quickly become highly effective.
Your organization, like many others, may fail to realize that regardless of whether the candidate was hired internally or externally, there are inherent difficulties that must be overcome. For instance, when promoted from within, the new leader will likely understand the culture and have standing relationships, however, there are often difficulties that must be overcome when transitioning from a co-worker to boss, as well as from subordinate to equal. Learning to navigate these circumstances can be involved. Likewise, a leader hired from outside the organization has the added pressure of learning the dynamics of the organizational culture as well as positioning him/herself as a leader, assessing the team and quickly building relationships with them.
When your recipe for leadership development includes a new leader assimilation program and executive coaching, your organization can overcome these issues by helping new leaders quickly understand and assimilate to the culture, learn their roles, understand organizational expectations, develop trust and teamwork among their staff, and establish important relationships and networks.
Do you have the tools you need to be a successful leader in your organization?
What would you add that could make you more effective?
