June 2005

SECURING

For most leaders and managers, the filling of a key position signals the end of a process that has consumed time and money, and marks the beginning of their return to work as normal. However, an increasing number of our clients are recognizing the value of front end coaching in securing a significant leadership investment. Is this growing practice a legitimate expense? Why should you invest more time and money if you are confident you have hired the best person for the job?  Consider the following:

Recalibrating Success and Change: 
Some new hires are what we would term fast-track leaders.  These capable leaders are interested in impact and advancement. Their desire to compress time and expedite innovation can be initially met with staff and organizational resistance. An external coach can help to recalibrate expectations and assist new leadership in winning the support and clarifying the battles that will facilitate instead of derail their success. 

Managing The Unexpected:
New leaders in an organization often encounter personnel issues and political challenges that were not evident at the point of hire. The effective handling of these unseen challenges can be a critical determinant of longer-term success. An external coach can offer objective and constructive perspective in dealing with difficult issues that a new hire may not feel comfortable airing to her/his new colleagues or supervisor. 

Navigating Cultural Resistance:
New hires are often an attempt to bring a timely infusion of talent into the organization. In growing companies, these hiring decisions often revolve around bringing someone in to reshape or mature the culture and take the business to the “next level”. If the new hire has been steeped in a previous culture much different from the one being entered, the road to change and success may be formidable. A savvy coach can limit the amount of costly recovery work and misperceptions that can occur when cultural assumptions collide. 

You might be reading this and saying to yourself, “We can handle this internally…” and you may have the resources to do it.  The “’When to coach?” question is not as much about your internal capability as it is about the leader’s receptivity.  In our experience, new leaders often feel compromised by turning to internal staff whose connections and tentacles may extend to places in the organization they may not be aware of, or comfortable with.  Whatever choice you make, your best call is to become proactive in “securing” the success of key hires in your organization.   

 Call us, we can help.

 Personal Service.  Consistently Delivered.  Worldwide.    
When You Need Us. . . We’ll Be Here. 

                                  Phone:  952.525.1475            
            
Email:  E-Talent@oipartners.net 

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