Starting A New Job

The first year in a new role carries immense opportunities. New people, a new culture, a new business purpose, and a fresh start. It’s a time of both great possibilities and unanticipated risks.

Drawing on my 25+ years of senior leadership experience and over 500 hours of professional coaching, I've distilled five key themes you are bound to encounter when you start a new job.

I offer succinct strategies to navigate these challenges effectively during this pivotal period.

Success That Still Haunts Me

When I reflect on my career, the moments that stand out the most are those initial 6-12 months in each new role. I always thrived when starting a new job, diving headfirst into it, absorbing as much knowledge as possible, creating a plan with my new team, sharing that plan with my peers and boss (often including the CEO or Board Director), and then swiftly taking action.

Once the plan was in place, I poured all my efforts into ensuring its success, typically managing to rally my team behind me.

This approach certainly bore fruit, at least initially. For instance, when I led the relaunch of the American Express Corporate Card in France in the 1990’s, I received the highest rating in the market in a decade. I can vividly recall my commitment and excitement crafting and executing that plan.

But wait—what sounds obnoxiously self-aggrandizing is only part of the story.

Despite the accolades and feelings of accomplishment, however, my approach laid the foundation for difficulty in future years. My intensity, driven by a deep-seated desire to prove myself and make swift contributions, ended up alienating a few of my peers.

Some of this disconnect was rooted in cultural differences: despite my fluency in French, I sometimes struggled to grasp the nuances of workplace customs in France. By pushing myself so relentlessly, I unintentionally crossed certain boundaries of acceptable workplace behavior. That collateral damage made my experience less enjoyable and to this day, when I return to France, which I do every year, I feel a little haunted and wonder what I could have done differently.

Eyes Wide Open

Look, starting a new job can be exhilarating. Whether you’re leaving behind a job you came to dislike, you were lured away for more responsibility and compensation, or you finally landed a job after months of searching, you’re likely filled with excitement and a little apprehension. You know this is an important opportunity for you and you’re committed to making it go well.

I recently spoke with a senior executive transitioning from an non-governmental organization (NGO) to a financial services corporation. Talk about a significant change in work environment.

His new role at the insurance carrier, it turns out, was a recently created position, very likely advocated by the company’s BOD. The fact that he reached out to me (and some others) meant he knew, quite rightly, that the first six months could be a little bumpy. He also recognized that for him and his family, the stakes were high.

Transitioning from an NGO to a publicly traded company was a risk he decided to take for a couple of reasons. First, he wanted to work in a faster-paced, more dynamic environment, with less politics. Second, with three kids in their early teens, he felt the need to save more money to finance his kids’ university studies.

He reached out to me because he recognized how his creative adaptive skills would be tested in the new role in a totally new work environment. He wondered what he would need to change to be successful in this new role.

A New Organ Entering A Host

At one point in our conversation, I compared the process of integrating a new executive into a new organization to that of a new organ entering a host. Full disclosure: this idea was not something I invented. Rather, it was suggested by a coaching mentor of mine and it really resonated with me because I could relate from personal experience.

“What on earth do you mean?” his body language asked.

So I clarified why I used this analogy. Here’s what I remember saying:

Despite what may have been conveyed to you in the interview process, some of the executives within the company (the “host”) may not support you or your initiative (the new “organ.”). These elements of “rejection” may very well emerge as you pursue the job your new boss and the company hired you to do. The fact that the position was a new role within the company increased the risk of experiencing pockets of “resistance.”

Your Loyal Ally: Self-awareness

Naturally, this executive’s immediate goal is to positively integrate into the organization and perform the job he was hired for. This starts with using the strengths or highly developed skills he brings to the table.

Often, however, that’s not enough: he’ll also need to address what limits or gets in the way of his effectiveness in his new work environment and bolster other, previously less exercised skills. He may even need to dial down some of what got him to where he is.

Put another way, to create the business value he was hired for, which requires aligning with business vision, strategy and values, he may need to make some changes to the playbook that led to his success in his previous jobs. It simply may not work well enough in his new role.

Five Common Themes Au Debut

Here are five common themes that I often see with clients who start a new jobs:

Where the heck have I landed? It’s extremely difficult to create business value in a large corporation when you don’t understand the full context, the norms of behavior or how decisions get made. Without this understanding, developing and maintaining mutually satisfying relationships and shaping vision and strategy will be difficult if not impossible.

What you can do: As you make your way in the first few months, note what you’re seeing and consider how this affects your communication and the relationships you need to invest in

We’re just not on the same page When you completed the interview process and accepted the offer, you had certain expectations about the new role. You may discover that your expectations are not exactly aligned with those of your boss, or certain peers, or even those in higher leadership positions. Without an alignment of expectations, it’s difficult to succeed.

What you can do: When you’re confident you are seeing a gap, bring it to your boss’s attention as quickly as possible in a curious, positive manner. Once you’ve heard what your boss has in mind, then you can consider what to do about it.

I don’t understand these people We sometimes discover that what we value in the workplace is not the same as what some of our colleagues value. Moreover, there’s often a disconnect between the values the organization publishes in internal documents or on their corporate web site and actual behavior.

What you can do: Pay attention to people’s behavior more than words. The first few months in a new job is not the best to time to be a change agent—for that, you need to build trust and that takes time.

My old bag of pixie dust is not working You show up with your strengths; but also with certain less developed areas that may be important in your new role. Maybe you haven’t had to deal with “resistance” from other functional areas or your boss is a micro-manager and is blind to your need for agency.

What you can do: If you discover this is the case, get on it right away—don’t be afraid to engage in a direct discussion or ask for support. Your boss would prefer not to report to his boss that his new hire—you— was unsuccessful.

When you come to a fork in the road, take it Everybody knows the impression you make in the first 3-6 months is difficult to change. On the one hand, delivering quick wins makes a great impression. On the other hand, other activities such as relationship building, with less immediate direct contributions to the company, are essential.

What you can do: Near immediate contributions are important. Make sure you validate what early wins are possible and avoid making assessments in a vacuum.

Executives integrating into a new organization will be confronted with these and other issues that can work against success. Each can make it more difficult for the executive to deliver the business value they were hired for and the work experience can turn negative, creating stress and and an early exit or underperformance. With deliberate reflection and a lot of awareness, internal and external, many of. these threats can be mitigated and your work experience much more positive.

ABOUT ME

After a 30+ year career as a marketing executive and CEO, in the US and Europe, I now coach many clients interested in growing their leadership effectiveness and advancing their career. Visit mach10career.com for more on me and my company, Mach10 Career and Leadership Coaching.

Please email me at [email protected] or give me a ring at 617-529-8795 if you want to talk.