Being successful in the era of high expectation

Starting any new job, whether it’s an in-house promotion or a new opportunity at another company, may feel a bit nervous. When you have big shoes to fill or having high expectations it is all that much more overwhelming. Once Tim Cook took over for Steve Jobs in 2011, Apple employees — along with shareholders and the rest of the world — wondered if he could fill the shoes of his larger-than-life mentor and keep up the momentum of the company. No strain … No pressure…but still the feeling of high performance.

While you probably won’t have the whole world watching you, it can be exciting and frightening at the same time to take over for someone that is highly regarded or has had a significant positive impact on the business — or probably both.

The scary part is that almost half of all leadership changes fail according to a McKinsey report from 2018.

The study also points out that 74 percent of U.S. leaders and 83 percent of global leaders believe they are unprepared for their new roles, and less than one-third of those leaders think their organizations are providing sufficient help in those transitions.

That being so, it is probably up to you to ensure your success when you step into a new role where all eyes are on you.

What Makes a Great Leader?

Implement the Key Techniques below to increase your chances of success.

• Do your homework before setting out
  

  Until the first day you’ll need to get up to speed on your new job. It may mean being smart about the product offerings of the company, a key customer, an industry vertical or functional awareness adjacent to your field of expertise.

  If you have time off before you start your novel career, it’s excellent to take some time to wind down from your preceding job, but make sure you take time to incline up for your new one too.

• Be yourself.
  

  Do not try to take on the personality or leadership style of your predecessor, or be someone you are not. Being unapologetically honest will give you respect and allow others who are likely to equate you with your predecessor to preempt judgment. Be your original self. That’s the strategy to earn respect and fame. Don’t chase and try to be like others, don’t lose your identity as this is what which can make you distinguished and outshine.

  Each and every individual has his own style of communicating. So, no comparison and no ranking. Have your own style. Be yourself, and therefore probably different.”

• Understand and maintain relationships with stakeholders.
  

  Your ability to build and effectively manage stakeholder relationships, both internal and external, will be a key element of your success. It includes not only understanding who these people are, but also what they care most about, what they each expect from you, and what concerns they have.

  Some might be doubtful of your ability to live up to the success of your predecessor. You will be willing to meet every stakeholder and ask relevant questions like:

  #Question 1:-  What, in your opinion, should be my top three goals over the next six to twelve months and what would you like to see as success?

  #Question 2:- What other internal and external connections are crucial in maintaining these priorities?

  #Question 3:- What are your problems, and how can I overcome them?

  One choice is to hire an executive coach as part of an "assimilation coaching" plan to ask these questions on your behalf, which can give you more candid answers. This is, however, in no way a replacement for you meeting with these stakeholders to begin building these important ties.

•  Assess the team.
  Given your top priorities, you’re going to determine whether you’ve got the right team to achieve them. It involves recruiting to fill any gaps in your team, and resolving performance issues
  directly that can keep you from obtaining the leverage you need or hamper the development.Not addressing the performance issues with selected individuals in the team, and shielding away from difficult conversations costs dearly, as it diverts the attention from strategic priorities which results into failed leadership transition statistic.

• Keep a Check on your mindset.
  

  Getting big shoes to fill will cause you to doubt your own skills and whether you’ve got what it takes to meet your predecessor’s expectations.

  Imposter syndrome isn’t unusual, particularly as you’re getting older and facing whole new challenges. Even if there is evidence to the contrary, you can feel like a fraud or wonder if you can live up to the standard that you have set before you.

  To some extent this is natural and even has some benefits, but it’s something to administer as you get your bearings.

  Another important aspect of your attitude is coping with your limiting convictions or assumptions. Holding the team members accountable and engaged in difficult conversations is not a right approach in absolute terms, this otherwise could have been talking to others to build
  strong relationships.

• Seeking reaction and support.
  Build feedback loops with your key stakeholders so they can share what’s going good and what’s going not so good as early, so you can make real-time changes as and when required and as and when necessary.Keep in mind that not everyone approves of what you do. Recognize with your team that giving up feedback often feels very risky so you need explicit permission from your team to do so. The job then is to listen — if you don’t, be assured that your reports won’t probably try a second time, so you won’t get the details you need to hear. If you have big shoes to fill, you will probably also feel like there are few people you can confide about the challenges you are facing. Getting a mentor outside the company, or an executive coach — or both — can provide useful feedback and insight from outside, as well as provide a safe space for expressing what you really think and feel. It’s a great opportunity to have big shoes to fill but it also presents challenges. Using the
  above techniques, you will convince yourself and others that the shoes you got are just your size.

Be ready to face the challenges, be it your higher studies or jobs, with definitely the higher
level of expectations…..