Someone emailed me this question. I thought some of you might benefit from the discussion.
Question:
Any approaches or frameworks when you are taking over for a departing leader and there is an overlap between my arrival and her departure? How do I maximize that overlap?
Answer:
The critical choice in this situation is what you define as day one.
The easier option is to define day one as they day after she departs. In this case she’s still in charge during the overlap period, you’re spending your time learning and building relationships, and you’re taking your start-up slow. Time to learn is a wonderful thing.
By far the more difficult option is to define day one as your first day on the job. In this case, you and her will be butting heads trying to figure out who’s in charge as you move beyond initial learning and relationship-building to a focus on delivery. In general, you want to do this only if the group is in trouble and the departing leader’s continued leadership is exacerbating the problem.
So, define day one as the day after she departs to maximize your time to learn and build relationships. Define day one as they day you show up if you need to minimize the damage she does to the team and business.
George
PrimeGenesis Executive Onboarding and Transition Acceleration
