How to step into a new leadership position WITHOUT being threatening

Recovering from a bad reputation at work is the most difficult job you will face as you try to advance your career into executive leadership.  Don’t let this happen to you.

Let me start with a story.

Several years ago, I was hired by an organization to “turn around” one of their senior executives. I’ll call her Brenda.

She had gotten herself into some trouble after being hired to lead a dysfunctional team.

Brenda came into this new job with guns blazing.

She knew how to fix the team.

She knew how to solve all their problems.

So she came in and tried to change everything all at once.

As a result, Brenda appeared threatening to her team.

Many of her direct reports complained to leadership.  One of them came to me crying.

AND, upper level leaders rejected her aggressive approach.

So, at the end of the day, nothing changed because everybody was upset and on edge.

And Brenda’s chance of making it to the Vice President level was in jeopardy.

But luckily it’s not too late for you.

Whether you’re stepping into a new position in your company or starting with a new organization, THIS is why you need to work really hard to not be threatening.

Now, here’s the deal.

You want to create change.

In fact, that’s exactly what the organization hired you to do.

So… what’s the solution?

Create a 30-day assimilation plan.

My name is Stacy Mayer and I help corporate managers get promoted into higher level executive positions. And today, I am revealing the THREE THINGS you should do on your first 30 days to avoid being rejected by your organization.

Step #1:

Assume people know what they’re doing.

What do I mean by that?

I mean that you need to have regular conversations with your new team.

And when you’re having those conversations, you need to listen more than you speak.

You need to hold back a bit on your opinions, and instead ask deeper and deeper (and deeper) questions.

By doing this, you’ll have a much better understanding of what their challenges are AND they’ll feel more involved in the process.

Step #2:

Focus on relationships with the executive team.

The first 30 days in your new role is the perfect opportunity to open up the lines of communication with the senior leadership team.

Be super curious. Ask them what their expectations are for you as the new leader for this team.

And ask them for their opinions on the problems this team is experiencing,

Listen, ask questions, and make sure you understand what they are looking for.

This will not only give you extra ammunition to really excel in your new role, it will also be a significant step to cultivating the relationships you’ll need to scale up your career.

Step #3:

Don’t try and prove yourself.

You already have the job.

You’ve already shown that you’re capable.

So for the first 30 days, simply focus on doing a good job and building relationships.

Create a cadence of accountability with your team.

Create a plan and begin letting the team become part of that plan.

Just get out there, do the work, and knock it out of the park.

If you are interested in taking this work deeper and scaling yourself to the C-Suite, then I invite you to sign up for a free career strategy session with me.

Together, we’ll create a systematic promotion blueprint so that you can move from under-appreciated, under-recognized, and underpaid to a well-respected, rising star.

Go to stacymayer.com/apply to apply.

PS: If you have a question you’d like me to answer on one of my upcoming Your Promotability Factor Weekly Q&A, direct message me the answer to this question: “If you and I were to have 30-minutes together and you could get my input on anything, what specific questions would you have for me today, this week, this month?”

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