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Extrait du compte rendu des pensées et incertitudes de deux spectateurs privilégiés

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5. Don’t trust anybody (Trust needs to be earned)

Thriving on a wave of good intentions, maybe even frustrated by how little your previous boss trusted you as his employee, you might be willing to set the scene for a relationship based on trust, empowerment and mutual respect.

In the meantime, your new colleagues, looking for your weaknesses and eagerly testing your boundaries, will be interested in only one question: “How far can we go with this person?”

To protect yourself, tell people you will not allow them to misuse your good faith, even if this mean firing someone!

Becoming more lenient with time is possible; getting more demanding is hardly impossible without losing part of your credibility

4. Don’t bring anybody with you (unless they are better than you are)

As of certain levels of management, you might have the opportunity to bring ex-colleagues along with you when joining a new employer. Before doing so, make sure you interview them thorough fully and objectively assess whether they are fit for the job and really bring added value (People don’t always turn out to be the people you thought them to be, once the fall under your supervision).

All of your energy will be needed for you to focus on your new tasks and responsibilities. You don’t want to waste your valuable time on them.

In case they don’t perform well, no matter how good you are doing, their failure will automatically be associated with you, damaging both your image and credibility. Imagine the impact in case you are having trouble adapting to the new job.

The same applies for new hires.

3. Dare asking advice from trusted friends

As you make your career move, family, friends and professional relations will be watching you with interest from the sideline, while you are getting acquainted with your new job, colleagues, new procedures and new working situations….

With so many people watching you, not to speak about your direct colleagues, it might be tempting to feel like you have to prove yourself; showing the world how fit you are for the job (especially if your peers at work turn out to be direct competitors rather than team members).

Doing so, might isolate you from your most valuable resource, abovementioned people.

Listen proactively to more experienced people around you: they will be more than happy to counsel you, provided you give them the chance to. Also give yourself that extra night of sleep before taking important decisions.

Wrong decisions significantly alter your reputation.

2. People will try to have you trash talk about others. Don’t

Your voice will be listened to more and your opinions will gain importance as you climb in the professional hierarchy. What was initially meant as an idea or a suggestion might end-up being interpreted as an order or a command. If things turn wrong, guess who everybody will be looking at? Additionally, you will notice how people will develop a habit to complain to you about others. Even though it is your duty to know what’s happening on the working floor, make sure you don’t jump on that same track: it will backfire. Your words will end-up out of context into the wrong ears and in a distorted way.

Listen, but do not criticise others, unless you have already expressed your dissatisfaction to them personally.

Talk to people, not about people

1. Get a global picture first, then take the decisions

You might be tempted to show your decisiveness once you start in your new function. Don’t.

Give yourself the time to objectively evaluate the inn’s and out’s of your new job, department and company. Keep asking questions; look for reasons behind the reasons, for rationales and history. Be a proactive listener.

Spend a few days on the work floor, in a way that after a while people will forget you’re there, allowing you to observe first hand how business is being conducted. Listen to the high and low ranked staff. Also consult your staff’s personal files. You want to know the history and be able to draw yourself an objective map of your team’s strengths and weaknesses. With your goals and objectives in mind, ask yourself whether people are on their best place and if not, why they aren’t. In case of doubt, have some or all of your team members assessed.

If you wait too long, you won’t see the absurdities anymore.

Did Obama's public speaking skills help him beat McCain? Based on their appearances during speeches, what are the odds that Bush would have beaten them had he been running for office again?

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