It's a principle that applies to any person who assumes a new position of leadership, whether it's the President of the United States taking the oath of office or a safety professional just hired (or promoted to) the position of EHS Director: Those first 100 days are crucial. Here's some help to ensure that your first 100 days make and don't break you.

What's at Stake in the First 100 Days

Remember the line from that old commercial: You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. What's true of dandruff shampoos is equally true of management. In fact, even more so. You get just one shot to make a positive initial impression on your new bosses and subordinates. The impressions you make in those first 100 days will go a long way to determining your ultimate success in integrating into the fabric, culture and social dynamic of the organization.

And it's not just your own success on the line. Others in the organization have a personal stake in your ultimate success. That includes the people who recruited or promoted you and those who you manage. If you hit the ground running, their stock will rise; if you crash and burn, you'll take them down with you.

The Obstacles to Success

Unfortunately, just because you got the job doesn't mean that you will master the first 100 days once you assume it. It doesn't matter how closely you match the requirements of the position or how well you interviewed for it. Doing a job requires a different set of skills from obtaining it.

Yes, executive-level job candidate, you have a serious vested interest in executive on-boarding. That's because while a lot of companies do a good job attracting, recruiting and hiring outstanding executives, many fail to successfully integrate them into their organizational culture. That often leads to a resignation or a bad start that ends in an awkward and costly firing - and comes back to haunt both you and the recruiter, regardless of how well you think you performed in your first months in the new role.

Some Pointers

Here's some advice on achieving success in your first 100 days on the job from George Bradt's book, The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan: How To Take Charge, Build Your Team, And Get Immediate Results (Wiley, 2006):

You should ask the recruiter and others within the employer organization for their assessment of key stakeholders in your performance - at some point before your official start date. Also, you should assume your duties only after you've mapped out how you will spend your time achieving goals on your first day, during your first few weeks, and throughout your first 100 days on the job. Identifying early wins is critical to your success in the role.

Ask those involved in your recruitment or promotion about how much discretion you'll have in mobilizing your team. What authority will you be granted to support people who are in the right role and performing well and to reassign people who are in the wrong role.

Be prepared for inevitable surprises. That means taking stock of when something beyond your control is major and enduring, which should force you to revisit your early leadership strategy. Or understanding that the change is just a temporary obstacle, which may call for you to revisit the tactical approach to executing a new strategy.

Conclusion

In the end, Bradt suggests, that successful executive on-boarding is about asking for feedback from all sides to help you gauge the early impressions you've made on a new employer organization, and chart some course corrections in your behavior if required to buy you more time to succeed. The book includes downloadable forms to make on-boarding effective and instructive for leaders at every level.

And remember, better to ask for feedback and support than to push ahead without a full view (including the views of others) and risk a messy and perhaps involuntary transition.

Wishing you career success,

Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet
www.execunet.com

BY THE NUMBERS


How to Communicate with Your CEO

By Glenn Demby

Lauryn's article is full of insight on how to cultivate a successful relationship with your boss or CEO. But here's the problem: You can't build a relationship with the boss, or anybody else for that matter, unless you get a chance to talk to the person. That's not as simple as it sounds. After all, CEOs are typically in their own space-physically and mentally - and hard to reach.

The good news: A survey of 150 senior executives from Fortune 1000 companies offers some insight on how CEOs communicate with the people in their organization. The findings:

Source: www.officeteam.com.

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