I envy an email network colleague! A new leader is taking over their organization. As I understand it, he is coming from one of their European operations. Watching changes in leadership are fascinating to watch!

Some are successful, some are not. Almost every time, the early actions of that person set the tone for their administration and the legacy they leave behind when they are gone. In other words, their success or failure hinges on the first days or weeks in the new setting. Is he a class act or just another leader? The class act leaders instinctively know they are the new kid on the block.

They know their position and title comes with a certain amount of built in respect (and likely some fear), but they don’t. They may have been respected in their last position, but they know that they have to earn that respect all over again in their new position.

They know that image is everything. The image they present the minute they walk in the door that first day is a critical part of their success. People watch the way they walk, the way they talk, the way they dress and the way they interact with people.

When they walk down the hall, they know they either come across as the guy who looks like he spilled a cup of coffee on the drive to work that morning, or someone who is glad to see everyone they meet.

So what do they do those first few days in the new role? The successful ones know they have to be seen and heard, in person, by as many of the organization as possible, as soon as possible.

They know the rumors were flying even before they came on board. They know they are being watched to see if the rumors are true. They know some have already made up their mind about them.

My collegue is so right about being concerned the initial introductory process goes well. Particularly when someone comes in from Europe. That person (in her case, the person coming in is male) will have built in perceptions about Americans and we have the same built in perceptions about Europeans. Fortunately, in most cases, neither of the perceptions is totally correct. The only way to bridge that culture is for the new leader to reach out. He is the new kid on the block. The new organization will have a wait and see attitude. The first moves are up to him and they are critical for his success. He needs to have continuous meet and greet sessions at the start, to listen, and ask for advice in moving forward.

Anyway, my two cents. I really do envy her. It’s a fascinating process! I would love to know how things go! Best wishes to her!

Hey, anyone have any good or bad experiences they would like to share?

When I wrote my book Surviving & Thriving in the HR World, I included the following fictional memo about a person who just received a promotion. Some reviewers took issue with this saying they didn’t change the way they dealt with former peers who are now subordinates when they got promoted. My point with the memo was that the situation is now changed and you can’t have the same relationship with the team you used to have. It’s too hard to be objective in your decisions making. What’s your thoughts?

MEMO
From: Al, CEO

To: Karen, HR Manager

Subject: Your Promotion

Congratulations on assuming the HR Manager position. You deserve the promotion. The management of Acme wishes you the very best as you begin your duties.
In order to start you off on the right foot, here is a quick list of some of your responsibilities as an HR Manager.

A. You get to work all the overtime you want–of course; you won’t get paid for it.
B. You get to listen to the problems of the team members–but you can’t tell them yours.
C. You get to watch them go to happy hour–but you can’t join them.
D. You get to listen to their laughter at lunch break–but you can’t join them.
E. You will administer corrective action–then agonize over your decision.
F. You are in a sink or swim situation with no life preserver–and you can’t go back.
G. There will be times when you will hate your job–too bad; you can’t give it back without damage to your career.
Again, congratulations! We know you will succeed in your new duties.

Copyright Cascade Careers 2010

I have been asked amny times how to succeed in the Human Resource field. Some thoughts from my book, Surviving & Thriving in the HR World.

GETTING NOTICED

It doesn’t matter whether you are a benefits administrator, a payroll person, or a recruiter, you will not get anywhere in HR without getting noticed. To get noticed, you need a plan.

Just hoping you will get noticed and get promoted won’t do it!

The people who have the power to promote you doesn’t have time to troll around the company looking for an ideal candidate to move into that newly vacant HR management role. They don’t have time for you to go out and get some credentials such as a degree or a PHR or SPHR certification. They want someone ready to step in.

Is that you?

You want the promotion? Then you are going to have to work for it. You must plan to get it long before it ever becomes available. Does this sound cold and self-serving? No, not really. You are not going to sabotage the person in the job you want. You are just going to be prepared for the day when it—or maybe another position you didn’t even know about—becomes available.

So how do you do it? Start by learning what the boss is looking for in an HR leader:
• She is looking for someone to take some of the load off her.
• She is looking for someone who is bold enough to make things happen.
• She is looking for someone who works harder and smarter than anyone else.

Look at it this way, the boss has a full load. So she is going to look for the person who has a track record of recognizing problems and issues and coming up with a plan to deal with them. She is looking for someone who has taken the initiative to deal with problems even before she was aware of them. That’s who she’s looking for!

By the way, you don’t have to worry about a good deed going unrecognized. She will hear about it eventually.

So, where do you start? First, take a look at your company’s organization chart. Look at all the names and titles. Look at the various departments. What strikes you about them? Take a close look. What usually surrounds those names and titles?

Boxes. That’s what surrounds those names and titles. What do boxes have?

They have walls.

Those walls mean “That’s my turf, stay out!”

How many times have you seen an accounting supervisor go into engineering and address a people issue with one from the chief engineer’s team? Most likely never.

How many times have you seen an operations manager go into accounting and address a people issue with one of the CFO’s team? Most likely never.

Have you ever seen a CEO go into a department and talk to one of the employees in that department about a people issue? Most likely never.

So who can go through those walls? Who can go anywhere and talk to anyone?

You!

Human Resource is the only function (with the exception of the CEO) that has the inherent authority to go through those walls and address any issue deemed necessary. Why do I say inherent authority? That’s because the function of HR is to serve all employees from the CEO down. That means HR has to be able to access all employees. If you disagree, then tell me who else in the entire organization can do it?

The fact is there is no one else. You are it.

By the way, it’s not the CEO’s job to handle those issues. Talk to any CEO and they will tell you that’s why they hired you.

So what does this inherent authority do for you? What’s its value?

This is the vehicle you need to build your power base and get you noticed.

OK, so how do you start? Here’s what you do. The first thing you do is to start building networks. For example, instead of sending an e-mail response to a person in another department who has asked a question, you go talk to them in person. It will impress them and you get to look and listen.

I don’t care how busy you are. You do not build networks within your organization by e-mails alone. Unless they are really terrible, you will neither get noticed nor remembered by your emails.

When you get there, look around, talk and spend time there. Get to know the people in that department. Get to know them on a first name basis. Get to know the department head very well. The first time you go into a department where you are not well known, go to the department head first and say “Hi, Joe. Got some information for Mary. Thought I would stop and say hi.”

Do this every chance you get. It won’t take long before you have free access to anyone in that department.
Everywhere you go, everything you do, you have to remember you are building your power base.

These networks are vital to that power base. One day even that department head is going to come to you with a problem. Bet on it! You have to do this with every department in your organization.

Your career will never take off if you spend all your time in your office. Human Resources must have both a name and a face. Do not expect people to come to you. You have to go to them.

Here is another network you must cultivate. Make it a point to talk to the security people, the custodians and the receptionist. Get to know them on a first name basis. Always say “Hi” or “Good morning” and say their first name when you do so. Stop for a moment and comment on something. I don’t care what. Anything! Surprise the receptionist by bringing her a flower for her reception area. If she has a candy dish, bring a bag of candy occasionally. It’s likely she is filling the dish out of her own pocket.

When you go into another department, always nod or smile to whomever you meet. Never, ever, walk by someone without doing that.

Now, let’s say time has passed and you have been building your networks every single day. Then someone comes to you with a rumor or a problem or something just comes up in a conversation. Your instinct tells you to look into it, so you gather as much information as you can and then you go back to your office and think it through.

You decide that it’s an issue that needs addressing and you have developed a solution. So now you go to your boss and tell him that you have come across a potential problem. You describe it and volunteer to handle it, assuring him you will keep him in the loop.

My guess is that he is going to tell you to go ahead. Don’t feel you are tattling on someone. You are in HR and your job is to make sure people problems get dealt with.