New leaders (or even those new to a different leadership position) are often overwhelmed with all the responsibilities and obligations facing them in the early stages. To be successful, I encourage them to work to align these three areas as soon as possible in their tenure:
PRIORITIES: You will always have more ideas than time. Be clear about what the essential work is (in your mind as well as in your boss’s) and take steps to accomplish those tasks before taking on other projects. You must determine early on what you should say “no” to.
TIME: Take control of your calendar before others fill it for you. As soon as you can, block out time for strategy/thinking, to work on projects, for vacations, and even breathing room between meetings. Make sure your calendar has time to work on your priorities.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Do you have the right staff? Space? Budget? Access to meetings? Equipment/software? Information you need? Ensure that you have the infrastructure necessary to accomplish your responsibilities and take steps to align your resources and systems so that you are able to do the work.
Like all good Venn diagrams, these three components are interrelated but can provide a framework for where new leaders should align their energies during the early days in order to achieve success.
Thanks, Meg!