by Hilary Potts
Notes of Praise
“I was inspired by the insights in this book. Aggressive in style and worldly realistic, The Executive Transition Playbook is a reminder that business is built on relationships and makes a compelling case that to achieve results in a new role starts with choosing how to lead. This is a book for leaders who want to step up, lean in, and accelerate personal growth in their progressive and sequential career path. Well written, with exceptionally clear reasoning, The Playbook is a great read and a testament to why we should listen to Hilary Potts. It’s a must-read for every executive coach, and for anyone who wants to lead as if they’re being coached.”
Thomas A. Kolditz, PhD
Brigadier General, US Army (ret.)
Professor Emeritus and former Head of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, West Point
Professor and Director, Leader Development Program, Yale School of Management
Executive Director, Doerr Center for New Leaders, Rice University
“This book captures the essence of pragmatic leadership principles. Hilary Potts’ book is a valuable learning tool for progressive leaders. Use it!”
Derrick Samuel, former President of Colgate Palmolive Company
“I have seen too many executives stumble when making a transition. Errors made in the critical first 100 days of a new leadership role can haunt you for a long time. Every executive and manager — as well as advisors to executives — should read The Executive Transition Playbook. It is an easy read and yet a comprehensive guide that should be a must-have on every leader’s reading list.”
Andrew Neitlich, Director, Center for Executive Coaching
“Hilary Potts shares clear and sensible tools to create a leadership transition plan designed to maximize your success in a new role. The Executive Transition Playbook is essential for leaders looking to build a strategy for both quick impact and long-term success.”
Kristen Clendaniel Clark, consumer package goods industry executive
“Hilary Potts has been a coach, friend, and partner through many leader transitions. I found the Playbook very helpful in identifying both where I succeeded and where I could do better. It’s great to have it now fully developed and written down in an easy-to-follow manner. Thanks, Hilary!”
Andrew Towle, Managing Director, Kellogg
Australia and New Zealand
“In working with Boards, I’ve seen a number of executives who, when joining a new firm, become overwhelmed and unintentionally get off track. The Executive Transition Playbook offers executives simple strategies to help them regain their focus and achieve solid results.”
Nancy May, President and CEO, The BoardBench Companies
“This is an excellent book that I encourage all executives in transition to read…the holy grail for effective leadership transitions.”
Jayne Warrilow, CEO, Resonant Coaching
“Hilary Potts has been a trusted advisor of mine for years. Her formula for executives entering new roles is compelling and practical, and echoes Hilary’s personal passion and wisdom for helping leaders successfully transform businesses.”
Robert E. Maher, CEO & Board Advisor;
former CEO of New York Cruise Line
“A terrific read for any leader who wants to accelerate their success in a new role. This book captures a wealth of proven experience and wisdom to help the reader discover their own path to leadership success. The Executive Transition Playbook is chock-full of practical, actionable advice that is guaranteed to expand your thinking. I found myself reflecting on many of the insights long after I finished reading it.”
David O’Brien, President, WorkChoice Solutions
Best-selling author of The Navigator’s Handbook; 101 Leadership Lessons for Work and Life; and The Navigator’s Compass: 101 Steps Toward Leadership Excellence
“The Executive Transition Playbook offers principles and practices for leaders to perform at their best within a short learning curve. The book fills a void in executive transition education. Ms. Potts’ book is required reading for my clients as they transition into new roles!”
Linda M. Van Valkenburgh, MS, CCMC, CJSS, CSMCS, CELDC
Founder, My Executive Career Coach
“It’s not often I get to read a leadership transition book as useful as this. It contains well-thought-out, actionable content that is as easy to read as implement. Now it’s up to executives to put the advice into practice.”
Stuart Elliott, Founder, Double C Coaching
“The Executive Transition Playbook needs to be in the toolkit of every leader in transition. It is practical, effective, and immediately actionable. It will ensure executive success as it minimizes and removes much angst and possible derailment. A tremendous, must-have resource!”
Jasbindar Singh, business psychologist, leadership coach, author and speaker, Auckland, New Zealand
“No one knew that they wanted an iPhone until they actually saw the iPhone — what it enabled them to do, and how it helped their lives become more meaningful. That’s essentially what Hilary Potts has done here. She has created the enabler that makes the life of an executive in transition have more meaning and achieve greater impact.”
Vafa Akhavan, Founder and senior advisor, NueBridge
Copyright © 2015 by Hilary Potts
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording, or retrieval system, without prior written permission from the author, except for brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
DISCLAIMER
This book should be used only as a general guide and not as the ultimate source of the information contained herein. You as the leader will know best what will work in your particular business situation.
ISBN-13: 978-1515360759
ISBN-10: 151536075X
LCCN: 2015912762
Cover and Interior Design and Illustrations by Lynn Amos Copyedited by Mark Woodworth
Requests for permission to make copies of any part of this work may be made to:
The HAP Group
[email protected]
Copyrighted Material
I dedicate this book to leaders who are passionate about making a difference every day. May you continue to learn and work on yourself, building and refining your skills, so that you may lead with the grace and wisdom of an authentic leader.
Contents
Introduction
Part I: Assembling the Elements for a Successful Transition
Chapter 1: Taking Charge of Your Transition
Chapter 2: Understanding the Executive Transition Playbook
Chapter 3: Implementing the Executive Transition Playbook
Chapter 4: Ensuring that Your Transition Stays on Track
Part II: Leading Your Transition
Chapter 5: Asking for Help
Chapter 6: Gaining Clarity about Your Role
Chapter 7: Preparing to Lead in Your New Role
Chapter 8: Communicating Your Personal Brand
Chapter 9: Learning about the Business
Chapter 10: Creating Balance through Healthy Daily Practices
Part III: Working with Others in the Transition
Chapter 11: Making First Impressions Count
Chapter 12: Opening the Channels of Communication
Chapter 13: Creating Your Communication Plan
Chapter 14: Listening: The Art of Engagement
Chapter 15: Building Rapport with Your Boss
Chapter 16: Assimilating with Your Management Team
Chapter 17: Making the Most of Meetings with Direct Reports
Chapter 18: Fi
nding the Right Talent
Part IV: Managing Effectively through the Transition
Chapter 19: Keeping the Business on Track
Chapter 20: Leading in the New Organization
Chapter 21: Organizing Information
Chapter 22: Cultivating Relationships
Part V: Leading Effectively for the Long Term
Chapter 23: Assessing and Using the Information Collected
Chapter 24: Sharing Your Observations
Chapter 25: Stepping into Action: Beyond the Transition
Chapter 26: Final Thoughts
Suggested Reading
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Working with the Author
Illustrations
Figure 1-1: Transition Readiness Questions
Figure 2-1: Executive Transition Playbook
Figure 2-2: Leader Transition Goals and Strategy
Figure 2-3: Executive Transition Playbook Activities
Figure 3-1: Executive Transition Playbook Timeline
Figure 4-1: Ten Indicators that Your Transition Is Off Track
Figure 6-1: RACI Chart
Figure 6-2: Goals and Business Review One-Pager
Figure 7-1: Personal SWOT Analysis Questions
Figure 7-2: Leadership Plan Worksheet
Figure 8-1: Example of New Leader Expectations
Figure 8-2: Communicating Your Personal Brand
Figure 9-1: Business Ecosystem
Figure 9-2: Business Ecosystem Considerations
Figure 9-3: Executive Transition Playbook Activity List
Figure 11-1: An Example of a Stakeholder Preparation Plan
Figure 16-1: Preparing for an Assimilation Work Session
Figure 16-2: Agenda for an Assimilation Work Session
Figure 16-3: Outline for a Leader’s Introduction Presentation
Figure 16-4: Team Member Assessment
Figure 20-1: Traps and Tips You May Face in Your New Role
Figure 21-1: Executive Transition Sourcebook
Figure 23-1: Observations and Key Themes
Figure 24-1: An Example of a Presentation Outline
Figure 25-1: What’s Next Plan Timeline
Introduction
Congratulations! You are moving into a new role in a new company or are taking on a new leadership role in your current company. You have come to the right place for support. A new role requires finding out how to be most effective at serving those people in the new environment, so that you all can achieve business results. The Executive Transition Playbook provides the information you need to streamline your transition period and quickly make a positive impact on the business.
The strategies, tips, and tools you will find in this book come from my more than three decades of experience as a business leader and advisor. As a change consultant and leadership strategist, I advise executives leading global enterprises on how best to make successful, rapid transitions into new roles. Additionally, I have experienced, first-hand, numerous business transitions and have seen countless transitions by my colleagues.
Over the years, I have noticed consistent themes in successful transitions and learned to be wary of potential traps experienced by transitioning leaders. In The Executive Transition Playbook, I share the insights I have gathered, to help you maximize your own transition activities. This Playbook provides a complete approach to creating a transition strategy, along with ample discussion of the tactical and interpersonal aspects of a transition. Leaders who have applied these principles were able to set up themselves and their organizations for success.
The reason for the creation of your own Executive Transition Playbook is to develop a strategy for your transition as well as to prepare you for the many conversations with colleagues, direct reports, and senior management that you will experience. The Executive Transition Playbook outlines practical and simple techniques to create your transition plan in a format that you can easily access and use with others. It is a strategic thinking exercise and not about filling out the templates in a specific format. The tables and figures throughout this book are meant to act as visual guides for you as you devise your own transition plan.
Who Should Read This Book
The Executive Transition Playbook presents an approach that works for many executives. The information in the book will help senior leaders who are moving into new roles, whether those roles are in a different company, a promotion, or an expanded role in the current companies. The creation of an Executive Transition Playbook can be extremely helpful to executives in the midst of a restructuring or as part of merger integration activities. Often, the business takes precedence and the leader may not spend enough time assessing how their role affects the business.
I will talk to you directly, as if you are moving into a senior executive role. I will present a method to help you think through your transition and lay out plans that help you to quickly make valuable contributions to the business. Indeed, for those of you moving into any managerial or executive role, you will find the information in this book useful and on target to your transition. Leaders at all levels can benefit by using the Playbook as a guide when entering new roles.
How This Book Can Enhance Your Transition Effectiveness
Many leaders who have used The Executive Transition Playbook said they developed a clearer strategy and approach to their transition. They found a balance between cultivating relationships and gathering and assessing business information. These leaders felt better prepared and positioned to make a strategic contribution, because early on they spent time actively listening to and learning from others.
Leaders who created an Executive Transition Playbook of their own felt they had a better view of what their transition period would look like. They could devote more time to interacting with people, instead of feeling rushed moving from one thing to another, without the chance to take anything in. As a result, these leaders developed a better appreciation of the business and were able to make significant contributions to it early in their new role. Without a Playbook to guide them, these new leaders could easily have underestimated complexities, overlooked important items, and focused on entirely the wrong actions.
The most important factor in a successful transition is to take action. This requires a commitment to strengthening your own leadership and creating a strategy for your transition. This starts with establishing clear goals for your transition, so that you know what you need to achieve.
How to Use This Book
The Executive Transition Playbook presents structured steps to create your own Executive Transition Playbook. This book explains in detail the components of the Playbook, and tells you how to apply the concepts to your own situation. You already know how to lead businesses, so you just need a way to strategize and organize your approach to transition into a specific role.
I suggest that you read through the book first, to get a sense of this approach. It is a quick read. Then you can move to what interests you and focus on the material you need. The creation of your own Playbook is an iterative process, whether you work in chapter order or dive in wherever you want. Although simply reading through this material will help you, actually working with the information will show you how to make your transition process your own, so that you get what you need out of it. By the end of this process, you will have your strategy, plans, and actions aligned in a logical sequence that will be easy to implement.
Whenever I work with transitioning executives, I ask them to take at least 10 to 20 minutes per day to review their personal Playbook and to reflect on the activities they have gathered in it. The Playbook allows leaders to collect all their information in one place. It provides the structure and focus that enables leaders to develop key relationships and accelerate through the process, with far less stress.
An essential part of your transition is building accountability into the process. Some leaders work with a Human Resources professional or a trusted colleague, while
others may turn to someone they respect outside the organization, such as a coach or consultant who is a transition expert. An outside coach or accountability partner can be an impartial, objective partner who will assist you in staying on top of what you need to do. A coach can help you assess the information and impressions you are gathering, so that you can develop effective plans for leading the organization. A coach can make sure you pay attention, cover all areas, and include all pertinent information in your Playbook.
Your Next Steps
The first step is to get started. This book is laid out in easy-to-use sections. Part I discusses the elements for a successful transition, from goal-setting to reviewing the Executive Transition Playbook. Chapter 1 helps you think through your transition readiness. The Executive Transition Playbook is introduced in Chapter 2. There you will also find more detailed templates and ideas for establishing your transition goals. It is important to write down your transition goals and get in the habit of moving them beyond ideas and concepts into action. Chapter 3 starts you thinking about how you will lay out your transition and the Executive Transition Playbook timeline of activities. Chapter 4 details typical ways in which transitions get derailed and simple steps to get yourself back on track.
Part II prepares you to lead in a new way, from learning about the business, to stepping confidently into the new role, to finding your personal balance and cadence. The chapters in Part III then walk you through preparing for the many conversations and meetings you will have with business colleagues and management, so that you can engage and communicate your ideas and new initiatives with confidence. Part IV presents suggestions that enable you to become more effective and proficient in leading in new ways as you move into your new role. An Executive Transition Sourcebook is introduced as a mechanism to gather and organize all the pertinent business information.
Finally, Part V positions you for long-term success. The chapters in this part present ways to assess and analyze the information. Once you organize it into key themes, you will be ready to share your observations with others. The next-to-last chapter, Chapter 25, walks you through how to take the information gathered in the transition and create a What’s Next Plan to guide you over the next 6 to 18 months.
