George hired a mid-level manager, Robert, a couple of months ago. Since that time he has does nothing to support Robert’s integration and growth in the company. The excuses range from “he’s not ready” to “the clients expect my level of expertise” to “he has to earn respect”.
All of these excuses are ridiculous.
You don’t make this type of a hire without a plan to integrate the person into your organization in a meaningful way. In this particular case, George has an inflated sense of himself and as a result, Robert’s future in the company is practically doomed.
When Robert interviewed for the job, George stressed that the workload was tremendous and that he needed someone of Robert’s caliber to jump in and produce at a high level. Imagine what it’s like for Robert to find that, yes, the workload is tremendous, but no, George won’t give him access.
Unfortunately, this happens all too often. It’s difficult to let go when you hire someone to take a burden off of your shoulders. But it’s worse if you prolong the pain because it becomes a losing situation for everyone. In this case, Robert is demotivated and wants to quit and frankly, unless George changes his behavior, quitting is inevitable.
In bringing in a seasoned person, adhere to these principles.
(1) Have a transition plan in place and begin to implement it on the person’s first day on the job.
(2) Give the new person the tools and resources to be successful.
(3) Make other employees available to share their job functions so that the new person knows how his or her role fits into the greater whole.
(4) Manage the new person proactively until he or she is well along the path to success.
(5) Check in frequently with the new person to assess how the work is going and identify any additional needs.
The bottom line? Be inclusive and pay attention. It will serve the purpose that you had when you made the decision to hire, and will free up your time for more and different activities.
Have a great week!
