Attention New Leadership: Do not forget this rule.

Leadership changes are something that we constantly hear about from candidates.

It is usually why employees who had previously been untouchable, are suddenly more open to moving from their company.

Often it is a new leadership in their company that is conducting a “slash and burn” process with company resources and it is sometimes conducted with an arrogant approach.

They are usually trying to attain one time savings without understanding long term impact due to their lack of understanding of the business and/or industry.

This approach can be relevant for large companies that are trying to strip down layers of inefficiencies, but we also witness this strategy used in companies that are already fairly lean.

It is as though the new leadership is trying to declare as well as advertise that a new regime has taken power.

The thinking is twofold.

It is intended to send a message that sub-par employee performance will no longer be tolerated, but the second part is usually ego driven where the new leadership is looking to demand respect and commitment while flexing their authoritative muscles.

This approach as we all know, is no more effective and sometimes much less effective that a more responsible and fiscally responsible approach.

Just because a company is underperforming, does not necessarily mean that all the employees are slackers, or that people have been taking their jobs for granted, or that new troops will always make better troops.

Do some leaders feel as though they will be seen as weak if they are not making drastic changes shortly after their arrival?

It is difficult to tell, but a calculated approach is best the best approach.

Assess, Assess, Assess the situation!

It is imperative that the new leader has time to assess this situation without any pre-conceived notions from others including the Board that may have hired them.

We often see absentee owners or family run organizations think that they know why the company is underperforming and will communicate this to the new hire as fact.

Companies may be struggling for a number of reasons which include poor training, poor R&D, incorrect market strategies or poor prioritization.

None of these will be solved by changing organization charts and a true and effective leader understands this notion.

A mandate of a leader should not be delivering immediate results, if it is, the company is in more trouble than it realizes.

Building a company is like building a sports team which involves development.

Assess the skills of the individuals and then align them appropriately with the new company strategy.

Assessing the business over the first few months with an open-minded approach will also allow a new leader to gain respect.

This will reduce the time needed for

employees to decide to adjust to new methodologies, allow more of an understanding of the business and market factors, and reduce excessive layoffs which are costly and will affect employee morale.

The idea of bringing in lieutenants who need to learn a new business while also trying to selfishly impress their senior leadership can often contribute to the further delay of desired results.

Think twice about adopting the Napoleon Bonaparte style of leadership.

You will likely thank yourself later.

Farewell,

Mike