Change your job or change your leadership style?

Amana says:  "What if you had the chance to start in your role all over again?

Or, to start afresh somewhere else – Would you take that chance?

There’s something exciting about taking on a new role or wiping the slate clean.

And when the role carries huge responsibility, the opportunity is wonderful. But if I’m honest, I have seen people in the highest of positions, people in the spotlight, and people running nations who are given that second chance, and yet - they behave in the same way and make the same mistakes all over again.

What a waste.

Either they are lacking in self-awareness (more common than you think), or they are surrounded by people who are not brave enough to be honest with them. And no one wins.

That role could be Prime Minister, President, the new football manager or the new boss in the business.

Whichever it is, expectations will be, and should be high, because the support you need is usually, already there, and all you have to do is, well, deliver.

And that of course is the tricky bit.

So, let’s think about this, what would you do first?

Some people dive straight in, others prefer to plan in advance to within an inch of their lives and take their time – I’ve seen people being successful in all approaches.

Whichever you decide will feel right for you and the business you are starting afresh with.

But before you make a move, have a read of these considerations:

Hitting the ground running

‘Get your ducks in order…’ I hear people say ‘…and then you can hit the ground running’.

Well, yes and no.

Of course you want to be prepared, start as you mean to go on and have an early, fast impact – it creates the right impression and will gain you some momentum, all of which is good for your team to see.

On the other hand, if you are listening, paying attention, and getting to know people – that takes up time - but it’s valuable time and arguably, has a bigger impact.

Hitting the ground running can mean impressing results but once you have people behind you, you can achieve anything.

And that doesn’t happen overnight. Don’t run too fast.

Get stuck in – by working with people who work for you

I’m talking about spending time working alongside people at all levels, doing different jobs, and learning what they do, how they do it and what they have to deal with. Then coming away with the knowledge of how the business really works.

That kind of experience is priceless.

Yes, it is time consuming and for some execs, it’s many levels below their pay grade and they may feel their time is better spent working at senior level. But it’s easy to lose sight of reality and then be accused of living in an ivory tower. How can you start moving forward without knowing what’s working well, and not so well in the business, from the very people who will help you make it successful? Unless you know, you don’t know.

Get stuck in and learn from your team.

About those 100-day plans

We often hear about new leaders working through their ‘100-day plans’ when coming into a new role, it’s a period of time that allows them to assess how the business/team is working and to then build their ideas for change and improvement.

Presenting the findings – and actions to move forward – can fill teams with dread because it’s about what’s wrong with their business, and what needs to change.

If the plan was presented as a ‘Here’s what’s good and right about this business, and here’s how we could make it even better than it already is’, it turns fear into excitement.

You’d much rather want to be a part of that, wouldn’t you?

How people feel about your plans, is more important than your plans.

Stay close to who and what matters most

You’d expect me to say ‘stay close to your customers’, and I am. Your customers are the reason you are in business today and staying close to them means listening to what they like, and don’t like and understanding how they and their needs might be changing.

If you don’t change with your customers, you lose them.

But the people you work with everyday are the people who make it happen for you, and whilst everyone welcomes working with a positive bunch, the people who challenge your ideas and make you think are the ones to pay attention to.

Surrounding yourself with people who always say ‘Yes’, makes life a little easier – we all want to see a ‘can-do’ attitude - but that doesn’t necessarily help you to push boundaries and become the best.

Listening to ‘disrupters’ and ‘difficult’ people can make your blood boil– but doing it might just help you stay in front.

Behind an ‘attitude’ could be a cracking idea desperate to be heard.

Shaping up performance, means starting with your own

The arrival of a new boss means change, and closer attention being paid to your performance. And after the settling in period, people are waiting for something to happen – wondering, and worrying about how they and their jobs might be affected.

The idea of course, is to improve the business and the performance of the people in it.

There’s nothing wrong with that.

Except there often is, because what’s missing is the boss being open about what they are doing to learn and improve their own performance. Shaping up performance, I believe, works both ways. Start with your own, set your standard high and be a great role model.

Your performance as a leader should be your No 1 priority. If your performance dips, everyone feels it.

This year will be a new start for many leaders – in politics, in sport and in business.

But every leader of every kind has that opportunity.

You don’t have to change jobs, wait for promotion….or wait to be voted in – you just have to be brave enough to say: ‘I can do better’.

We can all do that, can’t we?