“Our only security is our ability to change.”
– John Lilly

As I said in last week’s article, there’s a tidal wave heading toward the shores of American business. The Baby Boom generation is reaching retirement age and more than 20 million workers – including the executive management team in many businesses — will retire in the next eight to ten years. This impending management shake-up will be especially dire for small- and mid-sized businesses. Organizations that are not prepared are likely to be washed away when this tidal wave hits.

Last month I talked about pre-transition planning: evaluating the roles and responsibilities of your current managers and selecting candidates to succeed them. Now I want to address key issues in ensuring a successful transition for your new managers.

Recent studies have shown a significant failure rate – as high as 25% in some cases – among individuals promoted into executive positions (the percentage is even higher in closely held businesses). Even organizations with succession and transition plans in place often fail to prepare managers adequately for their new roles. Here are some of the most common reasons for these failures:

• Cookie cutter development programs: Many organizations create or buy a management development program that exposes succession candidates to a broad range of management skills. The problem with such programs is that no two candidates are alike. Each has a unique set of skills, capabilities and experience and, consequently, unique gaps in skills and experience needed to succeed at a higher level. Only a customized program that addresses candidates’ gap areas will prepare them for management.

If your organization currently uses a cookie cutter management development program, take action now. Assess your candidates to identify their gap areas and supplement your existing program with training and development activities targeted to their specific needs.

• Lack of clarity about new roles and responsibilities: As strange as it may sound, managers promoted from within are often less clear about the scope and expectations of their new job than managers hired from outside the organization. False assumptions are often to blame. The boss may assume that the candidate has been in the organization long enough to know what the job entails and doesn’t need a detailed explanation. The candidate may buy into this false assumption or may be reluctant to ask for clarification of roles and responsibilities for fear of seeming weak or incompetent. As a result of such unspoken assumptions, new managers are often unclear about the boundaries of their authority and the boss’s expectations for performance.

If you’re not certain that your new managers understand their roles, take action now. Sit down with them to review responsibilities and performance expectations. Review your strategic plan and make sure they understand the specific deliverables for which they are responsible. Also be sure to discuss any areas of the job where they’re struggling and need ongoing development.

• Difficulty renegotiating relationships: One of the biggest challenges for new managers is renegotiating relationships within the organization. Not only must they establish credibility with the rest of the management team, new managers must alter their relationships with former peers who are now subordinates. They may encounter jealousy and hostility from colleagues who were vying for the job. They may also have trouble adjusting to unfamiliar internal politics at the management level.

New managers need mentoring and coaching to handle the human side of job transitions. If you do not have a mentoring program in place for your new managers, take action now. Make sure each new manager is receiving ongoing coaching. Consider assigning a mentor to each new manager or hiring an outside consultant to provide support during the transition period.

The bottom line
Transitioning into a management position is difficult. Even a good management development program may not prepare candidates for all the challenges they will face during the transition into their first management job. Assessment and ongoing development, coaching and mentoring will help ensure that your new managers survive the transition period and become strong contributors to your management team.

How is your organization helping new managers succeed?