Onboarding is disruptive – by design. Sure, we talk a lot about the need for new leaders to assimilate into the organization, to adapt, to build relationships and the like. All those are true. They are important as ways to smooth the underlying disruption inherent in the situation not avoid the disruption.
The only reason for anyone to hire anyone anywhere, any time is because that new person can help the organization deliver results it could not deliver without that person. Thus, the addition of the new person is a positive disruption. The point of this particular note is that we should all make sure to nurture the positive aspects of disruptive onboarding as well as mitigate its risks.
IBM’s Frank Kern wrote a piece in BusinessWeek, May 19, 2010 suggesting that what chief executives really want in their employees is creativity.
Jeremy Seigel gave a lecture at the Wharton School on May 15, 2010 suggesting that all sustainable productivity changes come from innovation.
Ted Wujik gave a talk at TED in February, 2010 revealing that the group that did the best job building a structure to support a marshmallow was not CEOs, and was certainly not new MBA graduates, but was kindergarten students. They didn’t know enough to jockey for position or create elegant plans. They simple tried new things until one of them worked.
“Creativity”. “Innovation”. “Trying new things”. They are all about positive disruption – getting people to think about things differently. It’s not about creative people or non-creative people. It’s about getting all people to think differently.
Leaders that come in challenging other individuals put people on the defensive and have huge relationship risks. Leaders that come in challenging thinking and paradigms inspire and enable other to do things differently and often have less relationship risks.
Bottom line: don’t shy away from disruptive onboarding. Embrace it from all points of view and harness it’s opportunity for positive change.
George Bradt – PrimeGenesis Executive Onboarding and Transition Acceleration
