DIAGNOSIS
Winning the election to office provides opportunities to propel your career to even higher levels or bring it to a screeching
halt
PRESCRIPTION
Create an intentional impression and action plan for success
You got the job in home office! You may want to celebrate and relax after an interview process that felt like the "presidential
primaries," but the campaign isn't over; in fact, it's just begun. The difference is that the President of the United States
gets four years to prove himself while many companies provide only a (real or perceived) 90-day probationary period.
The stakes and potential payoffs are great because not only are you "not in Kansas anymore" but people are forming opinions
of you during what may be the most stressful time of your career—while in the throes of relocation, navigating a corporate
environment, learning a new job and redefining relationships. Although daunting, the ability to do all of that and more, with
confidence and composure, is vital. Your first impressions create perceptions that lead to your reputation. In the book Sway, authors Ori and Rom Brafman describe how an inaccurate initial impression becomes a trap because our initial positive or
negative bias tends to filter subsequent experiences to reaffirm our original assumption. The corporate landscape is radically different than a field sales territory, and the stakes in navigating it are high. Unlike
field mistakes in a single office or hospital that may isolate or hurt you, a mistake in the corporate environment is far
more visible and costly. Ironically, your orientation to home office is likely to be nothing like the rigorous sales training
you received when starting in the field. In The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins cites the collateral damage caused by the sink or swim mentality. He adds, "Leaders, regardless of their
level, are most vulnerable in their first few months in a new position because they lack detailed knowledge of the challenges
they will face and what it will take to succeed in meeting them; they also have not yet developed a network of relationships
to sustain them."
At higher levels of responsibility you are often expected to take charge of your own on-boarding. This article provides guidance
in the form of two powerful elements: Emotional Intelligence (EI), because it impacts career success more than IQ, and a politician's
savvy, because "taking office" means entering a political environment. Your plan for success includes conducting market research,
meeting constituents and assessing their needs, devising a platform, building and leveraging advocates, and ultimately getting
reelected.
Conduct market research
Candidates typically survey the marketplace to assess the issues and political landscape. One of the first things that a newly
elected official does is to reach out to create unity among voters that didn't support them. Do you know who your proponents
and opponents are? What was their feedback on your interviewing performance? Was there something they disliked or was it simply
a loyalty to another candidate? Asking and learning from this research will tax your self-awareness and self-management EI
abilities, but failure to do so can thwart your success.
Whether you're in the home office as part of an internship or promotion, you only get one chance to be new. Even if you were
a stellar salesperson, a corporate environment requires higher levels of social awareness and relationship management (See
sidebar).
Now is the time to network, observe everything, ask questions and identify expectations to decipher the unwritten rules—what
your colleagues know about navigating what I call the perilous p's of office politics:
- People: Decision makers by title and influence, stakeholder agendas
- Personalities: Behavioral styles, who are the initiators, blockers, supporters, observers
- Politics: Spheres of influence, coalitions and oppositional camps
- Process: Protocols, policies, procedures, workflows an administrative tasks.
The unwritten rules are etched in stone because they are the commandments for corporate life. Find a mentor or trusted colleague
to tell you who and what influences decisions, how conflict is handled and who has the ear of senior management. Demonstrate
social awareness by striking a balance between being assertive and passive. Go out of your way to introduce yourself but take
a more passive role until you understand the perilous Ps.
