Advice for a new manager

Advice for a new CEO/Manager/Employee

Every year, a group of new CEOs from the world’s leading companies attend a workshop at Harvard Business School. These are either individuals about to take over the role of CEO or recently promoted to the position.

The course is intended to give them some of the skills they will need for this responsible position but also give them an opportunity to share their fears, observations and realisations with others in the same boat.

The realities of the job are a rude awakening for some. Achieving CEO status is “making it” for most of these people. It’s the final prize after a lifetime working towards this goal. And yet most who attend the course say that it’s much more challenging than they expected whilst also being a much less powerful role than they had originally believed. 

If you are a CEO…or even if you are not!
What can the ponderings of these CEOs tell you, especially if you aren’t a CEO yourself? Well, I believe a few of the observations are relevant no matter what your status in your organisation.

1. You are always sending a message.
Even before you arrive at your new job, assumptions are already being made about you and expectations are developing. This applies no matter what level you are at in an organisation. Consequently you do not arrive with a clean slate.

It might be important therefore to take a step back when you first arrive at your new job to give you time to understand these assumptions and expectations. Once you get a sense of these you can start educating those around you (your boss, your team, your organisation) about your true values, style and approach.

And even when you are established, remember that you are still sending messages all the time. Something which seems minor to you (e.g. not saying hello to everyone in your office when you arrive each day) may be taken seriously by someone else who feels ignored, invisible or unimportant.

If you remember that everything you do sends a message, and not necessarily the message you are intending you send, you will become more aware and deliberate in your actions and much less likely to offend.

2. It’s hard to know what’s really going on.
One of the greatest frustrations for anyone rising up the corporate ladder is that the higher up they go, the less they know.

Detailed information about day to day decisions is replaced with a more general overview picture. It is simply impossible to know what everyone is doing all the time, which can be frustrating for leaders who really enjoyed being experts in a particular part of the business in previous jobs.

But it is an important transition for any leader. Your people won’t necessarily tell you everything anymore. They may want to protect you from being overwhelmed or they may have other motives for keeping you out of the loop. So you will have to do two things – a) accept that you can’t know everything anymore and b) find other ways to access information about your company or your industry. Regular lunches with groups further down the hierarchy, with your customers or with others from your field may be one option.

And if you aren’t the leader but the follower, this insight is important too. Leaders can feel disconnected from what’s going on. And whilst they don’t have time to be inundated with detailed information, they are generally hungry for your input, your honesty and your counsel. Don’t assume that your boss knows more than you. It may very well be that he’s waiting for you to tell him what’s really going on!

3. You are still only human.
Many CEOs come in to their jobs amidst a fanfare of high hopes. The future of the company is in their hands. They’ve been rewarded for their hard work, their insight and their commitment. Unsurprisingly, they can feel invincible. Such confidence is vital. A leader who does not have self-belief will be unable to inspire others. But it is important to always have your feet on the ground.
If you’ve recently been promoted or even received some very positive feedback, remember that you are still only human! Keep listening, keep asking for other people’s input, keep being honest and down to earth. They might treat you like a god…that doesn’t mean you are one!

And finally…
There are times when we all have doubts. This is particularly true when we are in a new environment or a new job. So, isn’t it comforting to know that CEOs feel like that too?!