Most companies regard onboarding new executives the same way they do other employees: Ensuring they have their computer, email, business cards, an org chart and perhaps lunch with a peer or boss the first week.
Typically, new leaders (and others) have to find their way through trial and error. Rocky transitions are discouraging for them and for their new team members. Growing pains might include:
- Their leadership style clashing with peers and bosses.
- Resistance from team members who balk at a new leader and make assumptions about everything from competence to intention.
- Difficulty getting a lay of the land and how things work, which makes it very challenging to know what information is required to make important decisions and who should be involved in decision-making.
- Struggling with a steep learning curve and little guidance.
- Misunderstanding the existing company culture.
- Negatively affecting team members’ morale.
Being left to muddle along can cost organizations – not just because the new leaders aren’t as effective in their roles as they could be. Many executives who face the stress of a weak transition will leave (either resigning or being terminated from their employment) within six to 12 months.
Organizations are taking employee retention seriously after the Great Resignation in recent years saw higher numbers of workers in North America and around the world quitting their jobs.
Why? The cost of filling leadership roles is significant, with HR professionals placing a conservative number at two times the employee’s annual salary.
Failing to retain a new candidate, especially in an executive role, is an expensive failure for any organization.Take a different approach to onboarding
When onboarding is approached as career coaching, new leaders are brought into their roles with the support to understand the company culture, successfully assume leadership of their teams and figure out their other responsibilities.
Research indicates that a career coaching approach helps new leaders hit their stride much more quickly, typically in four months rather than up to a year.
Here are ways to accelerate the integration of new leaders with career coaching:
Think beyond technological needs to supporting knowledge. Yes, new leaders should have their laptop and network access in place from day one. But senior leaders really need to understand the organization, know where to find important documentation, data or resources for their role and get quickly integrated into the company culture and norms. What operational issues do they need to understand? With whom or where does the power lie?
This can be more challenging in a hybrid work situation, where leaders and/or team members split their time working in the office and remotely. What are the preferred forms of communication? Are different channels preferred at different times? How are decisions made? What does success in this position look like? It’s good practice to start the career coaching as soon as the new hire is official. (Pro Tip: Read our six ideas for successfully onboarding new employees.)
Intentionally nurture talent. Having the right tools, resources and support will help new leaders figure out their path forward, whether that’s adjusting strategy or implementing new processes. To get buy-in on big ideas, new leaders will fare better if they have already started building strong connections, know who to involve in the decision-making process and can successfully articulate their vision and strategy.
Align values, vision and leadership goals. When people don’t feel or see how their personal values align with their company, they struggle. Helping a new leader understand how the organization’s values and vision line up with their own personal goals fires up their passion for work. Career coaching over the initial few months should include documents and resources that articulate not just the roles and responsibilities for the new leader but also goals for regular intervals (for example, the first week, first month, two months and three months).
Facilitate connections in the workplace. One of the most stressful things for a new leader is figuring out all the social factors and relationships at play. Who are the key stakeholders? Which team members will they rely on most? A new leader needs to get to know their direct reports, their peers and others on the team, quickly figuring out strengths, weaknesses, challenges and opportunities. We are able to help new hires understand these nuances quickly using Everything DiSC®, a top-selling behaviour profile tool. It helps leaders understand themselves and others so they can adapt their approach and build strong relationships. Our Accelerating Success program is a program that helps a new leader and the entire team reporting to them get to know each other quickly so they can work well together, faster than if they muddle through those early months on their own.
Help new hires catch up to their peers. Managers or directors have to make a conscious and concerted effort to check in with newly hired leaders, especially in a hybrid or virtual workplace. Are they being invited to connect with peers in formal meetings and informal coffee chats? Are they copied on essential communication, including virtual groups, messaging platforms or online tools for collaborating? If their peers have had training, can the new hire register for something similar? Career coaching means helping newly hired leaders really integrate effectively into the workplace. (Pro Tip: We run leadership development programs for current and future leaders throughout North America virtually and with single-seat registration.)
Coach’s Questions
How do you currently support new leaders? What could be done better? How does the idea of career coaching change your understanding of onboarding?
