•••Greatmindz Inc•••™
MANAGING YOUR CAREER:::
1• HITTING THE GROUND RUNNING CAN GET YOU INTO TROUBLE:
It's Common When Starting A New Job To Be Told That You Need To "Hit
The Ground Running." Experienced People Who Appear In The Job Market
After Their Companies Have Downsized Often Hear This. The Expectation
Is That Since They Bring Connections, Experience, And Other Intangible
Assets To A New Job, They Don't Need Time To Learn The New Culture And
The Players. The Temptation On Hearing This Is To Dive In With All
Your Energy, Ready To Make An Amazing First Impression. After All, You
Do Need To Prove Yourself. Although Your Boss May Be Satisfied, That
Attitude Can Get You Into Trouble In More Ways Than One•
The Main Problem With Hitting The Ground Running Is That You Don't
Know What You're Running Into. Will Your Actions Make Waves Among Your
New Coworkers, Will You Rock The Company Boat In General, Or Will You
Even, In Your Eagerness, Perform In A Way That Will Have Long-Term
Disadvantages You Can't See At First? By The Time You Do, It Can Be
Too Late. As A Newcomer To The Role, You Are Put In A Vulnerable
Position Where You Lack Foreknowledge Of The Situation And Must Rely
On Your Bosses To Tell You What Needs Doing. However, There Is No
Guarantee That They Have This Fully Figured Out. People See A
Situation From Their Own Vantage Point And May Be Unintentionally
Blind To Other Perspectives. You Now Have The Dilemma Of How To Make A
Good First Impression Yet Not Step On Toes•
Senior Management May See The Situation From A Dollars-And-Cents
Viewpoint And Not Understand What's Happening On The Ground. That's
What Happened To James A Friend. He Was An Experienced Oil Field
Manager When He Was Asked To Come In And Save Money On An Offshore
Operation. He Came Into The Job And Immediately Found Big Cost Savings
By Substituting Work Boats For Helicopters To Get The Workers To And
From Oil Rigs Offshore. What He Didn't Do Is Take The Time To Check On
How The Old Hands Would React To The Change. They Saw The Change As A
Loss Of Almost Two Days Of Their "Week Off" Time With Their Families
Since They Worked Week On/Week Off. They Were So Furious That They
Staged A Work Slowdown Action And Called In A Union. The Result Was A
Backlash And Bad Publicity That Could Have Been Prevented By A Bit Of
Groundwork•
Before You Dive In, No Matter What The Pressure, It Pays To Take Time
To Do The Groundwork-To Carefully Read The Files And Review The
Situation By Talking With People. You Are Unlikely To Get The Chance
Again. You Have To Ask For The Perspective Of Others, Not Just That Of
Your Boss.
Far From Impressing Your Coworkers, Coming Into A Job At A Fast Pace
Can Actually Upset Them. Employees On Assembly Lines Who Worked Too
Fast Were Called "Rate Busters," And Factory Managers Hate The
Repercussions From The Reaction To Them. You May Be Far From A
Factory, But You Can Still Upset People By Pushing Too Hard And Too
Fast Without Getting Buy-In. Colleagues May Fear That You Will Show
Them Up By Making Them Appear Slow In Comparison. You Can Also Miss
Out On Chances To Tap Into Their Thinking About The Project. Without
Early Collaboration, It Will Be Hard To Get Their Buy-In And Support
Later On. There Are Few Organizations Where It Is Possible To Get
Things Done As An Individual Contributor Beyond The Lowest Levels Of
The Hierarchy•
More Often Than Not, "Hit The Ground Running" Is A Piece Of
Corporate-Speak Masking Hidden Flaws In The Company. Be Particularly
Wary If The Phrase Is Accompanied By Requests To "Get In There And Fix
Things" Or "Clean Things Up." If Your Job Is In A State Where There Is
No Time For Preparation, It Is Likely That Other Things Are Being Done
In A Similarly Scattershot Way. It May Be That The Company Is Looking
To You For A Quick Fix, Which Is Not A Good Position For You To Be In
(Unless You Are Hired For That Reason). "Fixers" Become Expendable
When The Dirty Work Is Done And Are Easy Scapegoats If Things Don't
Improve. If You Really Are Entering An Emergency, You Should Be Paid A
Premium, As Any Turnaround Artist Would Be•
Unless You're Time-Limited Consultant Or Interim Manager, No Matter
How Much You're Expected To Fix Things, Always Put Aside Time To Get
Feedback And Guidance From Others And Think About The Long Term As You
Start A Job. Those First Months Are Crucial For Creating A Lasting
Partnership With Coworkers, Subordinates, And Others•
Join Us In Our Subsequent Edition Of "MANAGING YOUR CAREER."
♣<<GREATMINDZ INC>>♣ ™ Copyright © 2013•
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