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Different types of transition situations pose, for a board of directors, specific and dissimilar challenges and resources. However, whether you are taking over an entire organization or leading a unit, project, initiative or team within your existing organization these six qualities facilitate transition to results.
In organizations where transition - start-up, turnaround, realignment, sustaining success and restructuring - is needed, a reputation for honesty, integrity, and personal values is No. I today. In many cases, people are coming from a situation where that was not the case. The President, Chief Executive Officer and other leaders have to help the company gain credibility through their own reputations.
The new Managing Director, Chief Operations Officer, Division Manager and other leaders have to be able to take in lots of information from multiple places, decipher that data, and pick the right critical path, because they'll need some early wins in order for the board to give them time, for the financial community to give them support, and for the customers to believe in them.
Chief Executives, President of the Management Board, Senior Vice Presidents, Business Unit and other leaders have to know the right questions to ask, to genuinely care about what people have to say, and to be able to translate that into action quickly. They need to be able to listen to their financial stakeholders, customers, suppliers, contractors, and employees and to be decisive in figuring out where to place bets--what to kill off, what to keep, and what to start.
The company may not have a lot to stand on; it may be stuck in the swamp without any clear path out. But with passionate commitment you can get out of the muck. People have to think, "Boy, I want to be around this person-she's exciting, smart, creative, with ideas and a lot of energy. It's demanding but exhilarating working with her."
Leadership is the ability to put that stake in the ground that everybody can see that says, "Here's where we are going," and then to engage participation in the strategy. Senior leaders and managers down to the bottom of the structure need the ability to make people feel a part of the transformation and also feel confident that although it is a stretch and less predictable than thought, it's doable.
Management throughout the organization can't be blind to their own weaknesses and strengths. They have to learn very quickly about a lot of different things, so they need to be willing to recognize what they're not strong in and ask for others' insight and direction. People and organizations who are not humble don't learn, and people who don't learn don't create strong organizations and followers. The only way organizations can grow is through learning and managing the knowledge.