My first blog as the new CEO of Social Firms UK is about just that – being a new CEO. For many, the experience of the first few weeks in a new job is a similar one – getting to know the staff team, finding out where everything is, getting up to speed with existing projects, and most of all, the frustration of everything taking much longer than normal, as every small task involves finding information that in a previous job, was at your fingertips. And it is important to get the right balance between review, assimilation, reflection, action, as well as just keeping on top of the small and large daily decisions. Read more...
For me, there is an added dimension – I am more used to building my own staff team from scratch than inheriting one. But I certainly have landed on my feet with such a knowledgeable, helpful - and patient! - team.
The received wisdom is that the first 100 days in post are the most important for setting the scene for the future. A month in, what are my top tips for getting stuck in?
- Spend time getting to know your staff and vice versa. I gave my staff an informal biography to let them know about my background, family and interests. The recruiting panel gets the CV, but the staff team don’t necessarily know a lot about you. The same goes for Board members. Spending time with each staff member individually on the first day helped enormously in understanding their motivations and engagement.
- Get out and see people –it’s the best way gather impressions about expectations and issues. I arranged meetings with members, Board members and with external stakeholders and partners. At least 50% of the meetings so far are with people I already know, but meeting them with my new “hat” on gives me a feel for how their organisations and ours relate, how we have partnered in the past, and what we can do together in the future. Diary pressures mean that some key meetings won’t happen for 6-12 weeks, but get them in the diary early on.
- Ask questions. Some questions look like bare-faced time savers – I could find a piece of information by going through files, but by asking a team member, I also find out who knows what, and I also get valuable feedback – priorities, historical perspectives, additional facts, individual points of view. Asking members, Board members and external people what they want from the organisation gathers equally valuable information and feedback – and my experience is that this is a great time to have the really creative conversations, so don’t be afraid to ask really huge questions!
- Don’t ignore the literature – it may be written for a different style of organisation, but you can always get something out of mainstream business books. The “100 Day” books are a handy reminder to focus on what is important.
What are your top tips? Share with us on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn
I‘m reading: The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins