Set Your Team Up for Success. (#201)
The Confident Leader
BOOST YOUR LEADERSHIP IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
In the past two weeks, I’ve had multiple conversations with CEOs about onboarding new leaders to their organization. Each recognized the significance of the new person’s first thirty days but wrestled with the right way to do onboard them. Coincidentally, I ended up at an event that provided some insight to this dilemma.
“A good beginning makes a good end.”
― Samuel Palmer (English minister)
This Week’s Edition
As leaders, it’s our job to set our team members up to succeed. How do you go about creating a good start for new team members or those who are taking new roles in the organization?
Clarify Your Thinking
Chatting with those CEOs about onboarding high-stakes positions caused me to wonder whether organizations have fully defined their process for bringing new team members onto their team. In addition, I wonder how leaders are onboarding existing team members to their new roles within the organization?
Why should onboarding be a priority? Here’s why…
Recruiting, hiring the best personnel possible, is a high priority. But it can be challenging and leave leaders depleted for the next phase of the process: onboarding.
A recent study indicates that 44% of new hires regret their decision within a week of being hired. The study further indicates that organizations have 44 days to “convince” new hires that they made a good decision.
This highlights that someone’s early days with a new organization is an important moment in time. It’s an opportunity to set an impression that affirms their decision.
Old Thinking: The recruiting process was exhausting and took too much time. I need the new hire to be productive right now. I trust them to figure it out and get going.
New Thinking: I want to make sure that our new team members are onboarded well, so they feel great about their decision and are set up to succeed. I should figure out our proactive intentional approach to onboarding.
Thoughts Lead to Actions
Recently, I attended my daughter’s college orientation. Auburn University’s two-day program taught me a lot about how an organization should onboard its new team members. The program’s applicability to leaders who desire to set their team members up to succeed is remarkable.
Here are the 5 things every leader should consider when onboarding team members to the organization, into a new role or onto a new team.
- Introduce them to the people. They are joining a community to which they will be an integral part. While a first-day lunch is welcoming, what is your process for them to meet and build relationships with key colleagues?
- Share the company values. If the culture is galvanized around a set of norms, share those with them so they can begin the process to adopt those beliefs and live them out professionally.
- Describe the resources available. Teach them about the tools available to them, how to access them, and how they are applicable.
- Set expectations. Clarity is compassion. Be clear about the role’s expectations and check in regularly to assess for alignment.
- Define success. Describe the vision for the future. Share what you think is possible for them in the future. Educating them on their opportunity will be key for their intrinsic motivation.
A good start is a great way to begin a new role whether someone is joining the organization or being promoted from within. Onboarding may be your best retention strategy.
Boost Your Performance
Watch this week’s video to learn how Auburn executed on each of these five onboarding strategies to great effect. My daughter left more excited about your college choice. #success.
What’s Your Opinion?
What’s your best onboarding approach? Share it with me at robin.pou@robinpou.com.
If you are going to be a leader, you might as well be a good one. Don’t let doubt count you out. Have a confident week!
Robin Pou, Chief Advisor and Strategist
We live to make bad leadership extinct so forward this newsletter to others who strive to be confident leaders.
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What is “The Confident Leader”?
During the Covid-19 Pandemic, I began a video series called “Panic or Plan?” It was designed to equip leaders to navigate the doubt they experienced and to rise in the confidence they needed to lead during turbulent times. It took off. I then started this newsletter to equip leaders in the same fashion each week for the doubt that crashes across the bow of their leaderSHIP.