Navigating the Change... Situationally but Diligently

60 days back, I was getting ready to embrace a BIG change in my professional career.?New company... New team … New challenges... and New opportunities.?It was a moment filled with excitement and anxiety.?“Come on, Nag.?We know you.?Did you feel nervous?” Yeah. when you had a super successful career for a long stint of 17 years with an IT giant, and then you embark on a change, it’s natural.?Though you are confident about your decision, the Gyan guru’s statements linger in your ears until your last working day, which will make you wary about your decision.

‘Wow...Change looks exciting but are you sure the outcome will be good?”

“Nag, I am telling you. A known devil is better than an unknown angel.”

“Change is inevitable, but change doesn't mean always the better, yaar.”

“Grass is always green on the other side, boss.”

Much more advice like this. Anyways, letting all these noises pass through the other ear, I started preparing myself for this change. “Preparation for the change? Sounds interesting, Nag.?What did you buy, a blazer?” Nah... preparation is not about the closet change, but mindset change.??All I wanted was to fit into the new environment quickly without major hiccups.?So, my preparation relied on these elements:

1.????Proven Strategies: On recommendation, I bought the so-called onboarding bible, The First 90 Days book by Michael D Watkins.?After reading the book, I had a mental map of what I should do in 30-60-90 days.

2.????Success Mantras: Spoke to a couple of senior leaders in the industry and heard their experiences. Understood the Do’s and Don’ts in your new role.

3.????Back-to-Basics: Having played a strategic Leadership role for a long time, I don’t want to stumble upon technical discussions with my new customers and stakeholders.?So, I spent some time refreshing my basics in NFT tools & technologies.

Dreaming about a red-carpet welcome, on that Sunday night, I was having a dinner discussion with my family about the planned HR orientations and Leadership handshakes on day 1(the next day).?That’s when I got a call from my boss asking me if I can take charge of my duties immediately on an important assignment. Few seconds of confusion, but the answer was instant – yes. ?Within minutes, I was pulled into a call where many Leaders were chaired.?Looking at my wavy hair, my boss said “Nag, I see that you are facing the breeze there, but we are trying to push you into the fire”. With a smile, I joined that firefighting call which went on beyond midnight.?Well... that’s how I got onboarded into my new company at twilight.

My 30-day planning went on for a toss as I had to deal with this priority assignment dedicatedly for 4 weeks.?But the blessing in disguise is that this assignment allowed me to connect with many leaders and executive leadership in the company in a very short period.?During these 4 weeks, I have also started making tweaks to my original strategy based on the situation and pulse on the ground. ?60 days passed just like a breeze.?But I have a better strategy and planning in place now. ?

In my view... Role/Company Change is not an alternate destination, but it’s an alternate journey.?You may face non-supportive tides at the beginning of your journey.?If you navigate it diligently until you reach the deep-sea zone, the rest of the journey will be pleasant. Now the question is… whether my preparation helped me in navigating the change.?Indeed, YES.

The first 90 days book offers you insights about planning vs learning, establishing productive relationships in a new company, and a few change management frameworks (I am yet to use them) with some good case studies.

The practice I am leading is at the inception stage, so I had to participate in many technical calls with customers directly in these 2 months.?My Back-to-basics preparation helped me immensely in gaining customer’s confidence in all these conversations.

The Leadership guidance that I took earlier and getting now is helping me to shape up my working style to meet the Company goals.

While I am still navigating the change, let me conclude this article with my initial observations on the Change:

1.????One size doesn’t fit all: Forget about what you did in your previous company.?The same strategy or planning may not fit in a new environment. Start your journey with a fresh mind.

2.????Be a Good Listener: Before you speak up, take a good amount of time to understand the ground.?Speak to the veterans in the system, listen to them, get their guidance, and then reflect on your thoughts. ?Last but not least,

3.????Develop Situational Leadership: Don’t limit yourself to your standard job responsibilities and old leadership style.?When the situation demands, be flexible to mend your management style.

What are your thoughts about navigating the change? Reflect it through comments.?