Keys To Success In New Jobs

Keys To Success In New Jobs
Every new job, be it a promotion, a transfer, or a move to
a new organization brings with it a new set of challenges
and opportunities. The one constant every new position
brings is change ? change in your Universe of People;
change in the skills required to do the job; change in
relationships with former peers, bosses, subordinates;
change in accountabilities; and change in how the
assumptions and behaviors you have developed will work in
this new situation.

Here are five Keys that successful leaders have told us are
essential to success in new jobs. Use them to create your
own success.

Key One ? How you establish your relationship with your
boss is critical ? don't leave it to chance, or
circumstances, or to your boss. Be proactive, and do not
assume you and your boss are on the same wavelength ?
chances are you are not ? and chances are neither of you
are aware of that!
Solution: Write down the top three to five measurable
things that you believe will create success in your
position - then ask your boss to do the same ? then compare
notes. Hint: agreement on two out of five when you first
compare notes is fairly typical!

Key Two ? Never assume the people that are working with
you, for you or above you see things the same way you do ?
because they don't. Every single person brings a set of
skills, attitudes and behaviors different from every other
person, and they will see everything through their lens,
and it is different from yours. Perhaps not a lot
different, but even little differences can result in big
misunderstandings.
Solution: Changing the way people see things is very
difficult. Creating a commonly understood set of results
creates a sense of unity and purpose and direction and
alignment of effort that overcomes perception differences.
Goals create understanding and direction and expectations.

Key Three ? Your expectations are different from the
expectations of your boss, your staff, and the people that
provide advice, counsel and support.
Solution: Express your expectations and be ready to modify
and negotiate them ? clear expectations between you and
your "Universe At Work" are critical to success. The best
way to express expectations is as goals that are consistent
with and aligned with your organization's goals. No more
than three to five at a time! And if your organization does
not have goals to align with, then set them up in your area
of responsibility with visibility to your boss, peers and
the people who report to you.

Key Four - You expect people to behave in certain ways,
based on your attitudes, behaviors and values. They expect
you to behave in certain ways ? based on their attitudes,
behaviors and values. You will all be frustrated to find
that the behavior you get is not what you expected.
Solution: Deal with results; every time you see a behavior
that is not consistent with your own, reserve judgment and
ask if it meets the needs and the goals of your
organization. Remember, solutions can come in lots of
different wrappers, if you let them.

Key Five ? The only behavior you can control is your own ?
if you think you can control the behavior of others you're
either kidding yourself or spending so much time looking
over their shoulders that you cannot do your job! Since you
can only control your own behavior, you can only influence
the behavior of others through how you act. People tend to
return what they observe they are getting.
Solution: Realize that you will be treated the way you are
perceived as treating others ? in 95% of the cases. There
is an old saying " How you act shouts so loudly I cannot
hear what you are saying." Take advantage of the tools that
are available that can give you a better understanding of
yourself as the first step toward more effective
interactions with others.

A Bonus Key: When you start your new position, ask around
and find out what problems need to be fixed. If you ask,
you will be amazed how quickly you will find an opportunity
to fix a problem of long standing while developing the
trust and credibility that you need to succeed. And
remember, the highest form of personal security comes
through your accomplishments.

People relationship issues are the most challenging issues
you will face in your career. They are also the issues that
can provide the highest leverage and the most opportunity
to succeed. Work on building personal excellence in the
people part of your work ? it has universal application for
you!

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Andy Cox is President of Cox Consulting Group LLC. He
founded his firm in 1995 after extensive experience in
leadership positions in Fortune 500 corporations. His focus
is on helping clients select, develop, retain and enhance
the performance of leaders and emerging leaders. He can be
reached at http://www.coxconsultgroup.com . Visit his blog
at http://multiplysuccess.blogspot.com