I have a friend and colleague who once said to me: "Mike. There is a book in every man. What's yours?" It was a very simple statement and question and I was never the same afterwards. The fact is, that I did indeed have a book in me. It drove me to act. If you have read some of my earlier postings or read some of my articles at EzineArticles.com, or seen my personal website lately (http://www.michaelkburroughs.com/), you are aware that I have developed a niche in the past two decades of transitioning new leaders into their positions. My book addresses in detail how to do a leader transition process.
The process is called, New Leader Integration. I call it "pre-boarding" in order to distinguish it from a common practice in organizations called, "on-boarding." On-boarding ensures minimal downtime when a new employ starts work. All administrative tasks are done quickly and efficiently and every effort is made to orient the new employee to the organization as well. Pre-boarding is all about results. Why is that important?
The statistics surrounding the transition of new leaders are dire. There are several recent studies that suggest anywhere from 30 to 50% of outside hired new leaders will fail within two years. The statistics are a bit better for inside promotions, but not by much. Another finding is that the first 90 days a new leader is on the job will more often than not determine ultimate success or failure. I have seen this happen, repeatedly. So the logical conclusion is that everything must be done as quickly as possible to ensure that new leaders arrive with a blueprint in hand for what needs to be accomplished and avoided. That is what my process does. It begins when an offer is accepted (for outside hires) or when the decision has been made to promote an individual from within the organization, and reaches critical mass the morning of the first day when I facilitate a kick-off meeting with the new leader and direct reports. It tapers off over the first 90 days with a series of meetings I facilitate with the new leader and his/her boss.
I developed this process while an organization development executive and introduced it into the executive recruiting field while at DHR International, a "top five" search firm. On April 1, 2011, I will be returning to DHR to serve as Global Practice Leader for Executive Integration and Development. We will be offering pre-boarding as an optional feature for clients to consider as searches are conducted around the world.
The book is called, Before On-boarding: How to Integrate New Leaders for Quick and Sustained Results. It is a step-by-step process for how organizations can implement New Leader Integration into the way they do business. It requires an experienced Organization Development consultant (internal or external) or an equally experienced executive recruiter to conduct this process. It is my hope that by providing the world with this book, savvy change management specialists will put it to good use. It is my goal to significantly minimize failure on the part of new leaders. The potential cost savings to organizations, which I will outline in a future posting, would be substantial.
We are still working on its release date, and I am told that it will be sometime in May. You will be able to order the book through Amazon. It will also be available as an e-book for downloading to Kindle. I would welcome your feedback once you have read it.
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