We’re feeling stretched, but we must not snap
One colleague escapes redundancy to find his role is to continue but across three newly merged directorates.
Two are placed at risk and seconded for six months to other organisations, one in a different sector. Another survives restructuring to find his responsibilities are now those once delivered by a team of six.
People are shifting (and being shifted) around. In almost every case, the scope of the new role is significantly broader, in unfamiliar territory and not from personal career choice. While some wing their way effortlessly through such circumstances, many understandably feel forced out of their comfort zone and concerned they cannot meet the new demands.
‘Aim to make what may have been an enforced change into something that works for you’
Turning these situations to our advantage enhances our career prospects. It means choosing to focus not on fleeing to another comfort zone but on fighting to alter the dynamics of the new role until we feel we will be stretched, rather than snapped, by it.
If you want to “fight”, remember the power to negotiate is there before, not after, we accept the new position. Translate your concerns about achievability into the potential risks for the organisation and your family. Consider the way to address them: an affordable developmental programme to fill a skills gap; simplification of the mandate or range of projects; reduction in the number of direct reports; buy in more support at home. Above all, aim to make what may have been an enforced change into something that works for you.
Offer your observations and solutions to your prospective manager. Every little counts so don’t dismiss small or simple.
Working with the same people or not, your new role yields opportunity for you to reinvent yourself – taking forward the best but breaking with the worst of the past.
Anticipating what is to come, fashion a “new you” suited to the new role and, indeed, the next phase in your career.
Employ those readily available tips on starting a new job:
- Listen, watch and select a few carefully framed questions to see how the new place ticks
- Adapt to people’s preferences: communication by email, phone or face-to-face; report styles; briefing requirements
- Value and show respect for all. Take part in office socials but think twice about office politics.
Then it will be time to “stretch” into the role by working more productively and being more skilled in how you prioritise its demands and handle pressure.
Check out your boss’s expectations – how you can contribute to their success – and get regular feedback on. However much you think you know your trade, be open to learning. Delegate, support and develop your team.
Productivity also comes by keeping the role in perspective. Don’t draw all your value from your work. Where you can’t eliminate pressures, compensate with activities that relax and refresh you.
Taking on a new role can be a time of excitement or stress, but is usually a combination of all. Handle it well and we can increase our chances of success and gain a little more pride.
Originally published by the HSJ on 8th December 2010.
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