Category Archives: How to Truly Understand Your New Role and Operation
To Lead or Not to Lead? A Skilled Project Manager Weighs In
Our complex, fast-moving business world relies heavily on project management to tackle major bodies of work. In tech firms, many leaders are specifically titled as project managers – and this title is rapidly expanding to other market sectors. The Project Management Institute *estimates that among seven specified US industries the number of these roles will […]
Continue readingUntil Success Do We Part: How to Decide If a Project Management Role is For You
By Mauro Piloni If you work as a project manager (or were recently offered a role), you were probably pulled aside by management and informed that a long-term initiative was in the works. This project requires the most important ingredient – the right leader – and that frontrunner is you. What comes to mind when hearing […]
Continue readingStarting the Journey: A New Project Manager’s Guide to Implementation
By Mauro Piloni If you read my previous post, you may have already passed through the checkpoints I recommended, and you have the answers you need to accept your project management opportunity.Now you are a project leader - congratulations!You agreed to take the role because you confirmed that you are the most skilled person to lead […]
Continue readingCulture Makes or Breaks New Leaders
Many in the business community agree that a leader’s success (or even survival) in a role depends on their ability to work within the operational culture. And for those transitioning into new roles, culture lies at the root of many onboarding paradoxes. New Leaders are often hired to make changes, fix broken things, “take us […]
Continue readingWhat Surprises Await? The 4 Dilemmas that Can Derail Newly Promoted Leaders
You’ve worked hard, paid your dues, and earned a promotion. Enjoy the moment and celebrate your success. Then take time to recognize that some barriers and surprises may await you. Never fear – these challenges can be overcome, if you can identify and properly prepare for them. Certainly you never expected this transition to be […]
Continue readingWhy New Leaders “Don’t Get It” And What To Do About It
After studying and supporting New Leader transitions for over 15 years, we have come to believe that it is always the case that the role and operation the New Leader thought they were signing up for are different than what they end up with.This understanding gap can have multiple causes, and can happen at great expense to the Leader and their […]
Continue readingThe Credibility Trap
Popular onboarding literature urges New Leaders to make their mark quickly, with impact, and gain credibility by generating immediate results. On the face of it, this approach resonates with many who are in the onboarding process. They want their employer to see them as an asset, and they are eager to demonstrate their value. However, […]
Continue readingDon’t Forget to Add Relationships to Your “To Do” List
New Leaders (understandably) feel pressure to perform almost immediately upon starting their new roles. What they often overlook is the impact that building relationships early in their tenure will have on their long-term success. In over 15 years of leader onboarding work, we have found that New Leader success comes down to a very simple equation: Relationships x […]
Continue readingManaging Change: How to Include the Team and Gain Support
The world around us is rapidly changing, and in reality, businesses that don't adapt won’t survive. One common response to the frenetic pace of change is for organizations to hire New Leaders from the outside, expecting them to make massive alterations to their teams, operations, and organizational outcomes. Sometimes these organizations provide New Leaders with specific […]
Continue readingThe #1 “Killer” of New Leaders: Failure to Achieve and Maintain Role Clarity
It should be simple: Company hires a great candidate, and its New Leader comes in and does a fantastic job without stumbling or making a wrong turn, delighting key stakeholders and performing at a high level. Now for reality: New Leaders struggle, often mightily, to become effective in their new roles. They all too frequently fail, and […]
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