Learning a Critical Leadership Lesson


Admitting what you don’t know when you join a company presents a challenge to executives with healthy egos and the strong self-confidence needed to persevere, but consider the learning that results when you’re open to the lessons this passage holds. First, it gives you the chance to practice broadening your network and your understanding of corporate cultures—skills that will serve you well in every leadership position you hold. The art of adapting to new cultures and building new networks is one that many executives don’t practice, especially if they’ve spent much of their work life in only one or two companies. The skill of adaptation, however, applies to many contexts and relationships, including customers, employees, and partners.

Second, it makes you psychologically stronger, providing you with the capacity to rebound when you face the adversity that comes in other passages. Time and again, we’ve heard executives complain soon after joining a company, “This is the worst decision I’ve ever made.” They often become trapped in a cycle of remorse, beating themselves up over having made what seems like a terrible move. When executives become stuck in this cycle, they don’t learn and often leave. They stop trusting their instincts and start wasting their energy on self-recrimination. They may actually join a new company but leave their self-concept behind in their previous organization.

When you join a new company, expect to have a certain amount of buyer’s remorse. Accept it as an opportunity to challenge your assumptions and learn a new approach to leadership. In the worst case, if the new job doesn’t work out, you’ll be that much better prepared for the next new company passage; you’ll have developed the resilience necessary to learn in the midst of adversity. If the job does work out, you’ll have demonstrated your ability to adapt to new people, policies, and environments—a trait that your company and you will value now and in the future.




Leadership Passages. The Personal and Professional Transitions That Make or Break a Leader
Leadership Passages: The Personal and Professional Transitions That Make or Break a Leader (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership)
ISBN: 0787974277
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2003
Pages: 121

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