Are you a leader who hopped on the Great Resignation train? If so, then you’re most likely knee-deep in figuring out your new gig. For the first month, you listened, networked, took copious notes and asked lots of questions. And wow, there are so many opportunity for improvement; the list of ideas is a mile long! It’s exciting, and you’re ready to start making some changes.
Hold up there, partner. Although your enthusiasm is admirable, take a momentary pause. Before you start pitching ideas for change, know this: if you go about it the wrong way, you’ll get the cold shoulder. Worse, you might earn a reputation for not understanding the company’s culture, which could have long-lasting implications for your success.
Selling ideas when you’re the new leader on the block takes a strategic mindset, which can get overlooked in the rush of excitement or pressure to produce immediate results. Here are five things to consider to help make your case more persuasively.
[Related: Starting a New Leadership Job? Do These Five Things to Get Ready.]
Practice patience
This is especially true if you’re a leader of leaders, because you have multiple constituencies to nurture and communicate with. New ideas that require a deviation from the status quo require patience, observes a senior manager with Kelly Services in this article about stepping up to senior management. “Everybody is in a different part of the journey to incorporate the change,” she notes, so it’s important to curb your enthusiasm. Even if you’re ready to roll, others most likely are not.
