Accelerate Your Next Job Transition

This article only takes 4 minutes to read, but by the end you will know how to:

1.??????Adopt an effective transition mindset

2.??????Avoid the most common transition traps

3.??????Manage your own expectations

4.??????Optimise your first impression

WHY DO SUCCESSFUL TRANSITIONS MATTER?

A successful career depends upon a series of successful transitions.

Here’s three insights why:

> Studies indicate that leaders working across 18 years will face 13.5 transitions. One every 1.3 years.

> Success in the first 90 days is a strong predictor of success in the job.

> Each transition directly impacts the performance of 12x other colleagues.

Without doubt the success of your career depends on the success of your transitions.

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FOUR SIMPLE WAYS TO ACCELERATE YOUR TRANSITION

1/???ADOPT AN EFFECTIVE TRANSITION MINDSET

Accept this reality at the start of your transition:

What made you successful in the past won’t guarantee you success in the future.

In your current role, you have everything you need to be successful:

-?????????The knowledge and insight to shape

-?????????The authority to lead

-?????????The alliances to execute through the business

In your new role, you will need to build from a new base:

-?????????Learn new knowledge

-?????????Develop different skills

-?????????Build authority gradually

-?????????Use different behaviours

-?????????Start and nurture new relationships

Let go of the advantages you held in your last role and embrace your new reality. This requires a shift in mentality.

Leader --> learner

Embrace this reality and accelerate your learning rapidly.

?2/???AVOID THE MOST COMMON TRANSITION TRAPS

?COMING IN WITH “THE ANSWER”

This is an extension of letting go of your old role. Your new role is not the same. Even if its in the same company, there will be differences in your responsibilities, objectives and stakeholders.

Your goal is to create a fresh, objective judgement on the strategic situation in your new role. Assuming there are similarities or over-estimating continuity may mean you jump to conclusions too quickly.

Start fresh. Understand the challenge. Then co-create on “the answer”.

FEELING YOU HAVE TO ACT IMMEDIATELY

First of all, we all want to contribute –?it is why you applied for the role and also why you were selected.

Secondly, we associate action with confidence, ability, authority. We equate inaction with slowness, confusion or worst – incompetence.

Wrong.

In transitions, taking action too early can stall learning, lead to bad decisions, and alienate colleagues. It is essential to give yourself time to learn, understand and build rapport. Before you join be ready to learn for the first 30 days.

ATTEMPTING TO DO TOO MUCH

You want to help and solve problems. You see opportunities everywhere. Several colleagues ask for your to help. Your enthusiasm leads you to say yes.

Its easy to quickly get sucked in. The result…

-?????????You end up rushing

-?????????You overwhelm your learning agenda

-?????????You over-commit and disappoint

At the start, prioritisation is even more key.

3/???MANAGE YOUR OWN EXPECTATIONS

We can be very poor at managing our own expectations.

-?????????We put pressure on ourselves.

-?????????We tell ourselves what we should have done.

-?????????We criticise ourselves endlessly.

In your transition, you want to minimise pressure and maximise potential.

START BY SETTING SIMPLE GOALS.

At this early stage you want to simplify the complexity of your transition. You will encounter new topics, information, people, and practices every day.

Within your first 30 days, break learning each of these into manageable steps. Simplify your objectives and identify achievable goals.

GIVE YOURSELF MORE TIME ADAPT.

In your last role, you took on new information and projects easily and rapidly. In this new territory it will take longer.

Give yourself that leeway. Give yourself more time to complete simple tasks, to develop new connections and to contribute to projects.

PRACTICE PATIENCE.

The reality is for the time being, you may know less than the people around you. You won’t know the right people to connect with. You won’t have insights and data to hand. You will make mistakes.

Give yourself that break, daily. Forgive yourself.

Don’t rush the process. Practice patience.

4/???OPTIMISE YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION

First impressions count.

We know because we all feel them and they last! So, make sure you prepare the first impression you make.

IMPRESSION

Start by considering your ideal first impression. That feeling they have when you leave the room.

Know your own strengths and draw on positive experiences from the past.

?-?????????Energised / Calm

-?????????Assertive / Accommodating

-?????????Analytical / Creative

-?????????Realistic / Optimistic???

Ultimately, try to identify three impressions you want to consistently create in your new role.

INFORMATION

Be deliberate what information you share and what it says about you.

What do you want people to know about you?

Most people go into automatic and start reeling off their career history…but what value does this add? Instead:

-?????????You can be clear what strengths you have that may benefit them.

-?????????Why not share some personal information to try and find a common interest.

-?????????Outline your style of working and start to build some alignment.

What do you want to know from others?

Ask for the person’s goals and objectives ahead of the meeting. Then use the meeting to ask strategic questions:

-?????????Prepare questions to support your learning agenda.

-?????????Share some observations you would value their perspective on.

-?????????Clarify how your might partner together.

INTENTION

Change always creates a level of insecurity. Help to manage this by signaling your intent to others.

-?????????Share some of your long-term aspirations for the role.

-?????????Be clear when what mode you are in – learning, analysing, acting – this will help people understand when you will start to execute.

-?????????Clarify any initial focuses you have been tasked with and any early wins you want to partner on.

__________________________________________________________________________

That’s it – just 4 minutes!

Remember your career success depends upon successful transitions so take the time to intentionally prepare.

In this article you learnt how to accelerate your next career transition, by preparing before you join.

1.??????Adopt an effective transition mindset

2.??????Avoid the most common transition traps

3.??????Manage your own expectations

4.??????Optimise your first impression

If you want to take action there are two ways I can help:

?? To maximise your early career, schedule a free coaching call

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Alec ??

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*Michael D Watkins, 2013, The First 90 Days, Harvard Business Review Press