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May 19, 2005
Hit the Ground Running in Your New Job
You got the job you wanted. Now you want to demonstrate to those who hired you that they made the right decision. Here are some tips to help you make a good impression and got off to a fast start.
Determine your priorities. Meet with your supervisor and others to review the current job situation and those issues that demand your immediate attention. Identify the key skills and competencies required for long-term management effectiveness; undertake a training needs assessment to close skill or knowledge gaps that might interfere with job performance.
Perform your own critical success factor analysis. Brainstorm to identify as many personal success factors given the culture of your new organization. Rate your current capability and consider the means to address non-skill related factors, like access to a mentor for knowledge about working within your new organization.
Review and agree on the resources that you will need to carry out your responsibilities. If you require cooperation from others to get your responsibilities done, determine how these individuals work and how you may best get their support. Build bridges and partnerships where you can.
Clarify your tasks/goals/missions. Encourage your new staff to share their past experience on existing goals with you. For new assignments, clarify the task or goal with your staff, brainstorm possible success factors for reaching the task or goal, and narrow the list to the three to seven key actions needed to accomplish the goal or task.
Be personable. Visit with your new peers, introduce yourself and begin to build a network of colleagues to whom you can turn for advice and assistance as you settle into your new position. Use small talk to find out more about your associates and look for common interests to build friendly relationships.
Get a reading of office politics. All organizations have a political side, and it is imperative that you familiarize yourself with that of your new employer. Lunch with new peers is a good opportunity to learn where power lies, ambiguous or subjective decision-making processes and the competition for organizational resources. Listen; don’t talk. Insights you gain will help you accomplish your responsibilities more readily and also avoid hiccups early in your career with the company.
Determine to whom to go for information. Political power comes from control over resources, formal authority, friendships in high places and the like. Less considered is information power. Identify those who have access to information that you need or desire and build rapport with these persons. They may be able to give you an edge in getting your responsibilities done.
Identify sharks in your new pool. Political sharks can ruin your reputation if they consider it advantageous to themselves. They may do it subtly like stealing credit for your idea, or they may use a sledgehammer, accusing you of some job shortcoming, but ruin you they will, if you give them the chance. For instance, don’t talk to a peer about the failings of your new boss—he or she may make mention of your comments to your supervisor. Sharks’ methods can run the gamut from keeping you out of the loop to poisoning your image to stealing your thunder.
Show results. You can’t become influential within your new organization until you have demonstrated to both senior management, other managers and employees that you can meet the expectations of senior management, can be trusted by colleagues and are a fair and enabling supervisor.
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