I can recall the precise moment when my new boss lost me.
Shortly after she took the helm, the new editor decided to hold meetings with each individual staff member to assess their skills and make sure their strengths were being properly utilized. It was a good idea — in theory.
In reality, these meetings turned out to be a forum for her to list all the things she didn’t like about the publication, and what needed to change. Now.
I kept waiting for her to say, “Here’s what I do like.” But she had nothing positive to say. I remember thinking, “this is the person I report to now. Super.”
But I wasn’t about to give up that easily, so I turned to a friend who advised me not to make any quick judgments. “Give her the benefit of the doubt,” he said. “It’s not easy being the new boss.”
He was right; it was a tough position to be in, and I needed to keep an open mind. A change in leadership can be difficult for all parties involved. But I believe there is a right way — and a wrong way — to approach the situation. There is a way to successfully implement change without alienating the staff.
When Terri Barber was named CIO at Southwest General Health Center, she knew she’d have to shake things up. The organization was operating under a model in which every IT staff member reported to one director (there was no CIO at the time). Projects weren’t being completed on time, but Barber believed the problem was a lack of organization — and not effort.
“I had a unique opportunity to restructure everything in a more workable, efficient model when I got here, starting with making sure everybody had some project management training, because their track record on actually completing projects on time was really dismal,” said Barber in our interview.
However, she also realized that change wasn’t going to happen overnight. It was going to take time and, perhaps more importantly, cooperation from the staff. “My management style isn’t such that I’m just going to come in and take over and not listen to anybody else. I met with each of my employees and learned what their skills and interests were, and I inherited a pretty decent team actually; they just needed some development and some organization.”
Her situation was unique in that she wasn’t replacing another CIO. However, she was still going to have to introduce change, which is never an easy spot to be in.
What can be even tougher is trying to fill the shoes of a leader who was well-respected and had been a part of the organization for many years. In these cases, perhaps the best strategy is to walk softly, but carry a big strategy. A few months ago, I spoke with Ron Strachan, CIO at Community Health Network in Indianapolis, who has experience in this arena.
“I’ve learned never to say, “Well, when I was at ____, this is how we did it,” because a lot of people really don’t care where you’ve been and what you’ve done, especially when it’s specific to another company or organization,” he said. “There is a bit of an art to, I think, bringing that experience forward without jamming it down peoples’ throats, because people don’t want to hear that.”
A new leader, Strachan emphasized, must be sensitive to “not being the proverbial bull in the China shop and coming across like, ‘I’ve got all these varied experiences; therefore, I must be smarter than you.’ That’s not the case at all; it’s just a different perspective.”
I couldn’t agree more. It’s not about being afraid to shake things up or been seen as “the bad guy”; it’s about showing the new staff that although you feel improvements need to be made, you respect the effort they’ve put in.
If you don’t do that, you could lose them.
Share Your Thoughts
You must be logged in to post a comment.