New leaders are promoted or hired daily in marketing departments and agencies.
Conventional wisdom has always been to take your time, learn the organization, become acclimated and accepted before trying to make your mark. Don’t move too fast! Fit in.
Today, that has become prehistoric thinking. Taking your time today can be the ticket to another job search. If you have just been promoted or hired into a new leadership position, there are expectations that you will get things done.
The clock is ticking.
You have about 90 days to start showcasing that you are part of the solution to whatever challenges your company or department face.
Why is that? Why the change?
That’s simple: everything today is moving faster, and expectations have never been higher. Smart action screams leadership. It screams that management promoted or hired the right executive. Your action allows more senior management to focus their attention on other areas and other executives – the ones that are not taking action.
And you can be action centric and still fit in.
Here are a handful of steps that can help marketing and agency leaders succeed in new jobs:
1. Have a belief system and let it guide you.
What is good management? Good leadership? What are the keys to marketing or advertising effectiveness?
Strong leaders can move quickly because they know what they believe and are comfortable in those beliefs.
2. Master the art of listening.
Spend the first few weeks in your new job meeting with peers from across your organization and your team. Ask questions about what is happening, what isn’t and what should be. Listen!
While you’re at it, find out how you can be supportive of all of these folks.
This quick listening tour can help you both bond quickly with key players from across the organization, and will provide valuable learning that can help you start to take action quicker.
3. Prioritize the urgent work. And take action.
Make sure you identify and prioritize the few things that are most important and will have the most impact.
And tackle an important challenge that can be addressed quickly.
Putting points on the board quickly will help build your reputation for getting things done and will provide you some time for tackling the more challenging items.
4. Have a clear message about your focus and repeat that message often.
Be clear about your focus with everyone, from senior leadership to your most junior associate. Remind them often.
It has never been more important for marketers and agency execs to have an action orientation. And organizations are looking for leaders that are doers. You have about 90 days to create a reputation in your new role. If you create a reputation as an action-oriented and focused leader, you will likely be given more and more opportunities.
Make the most of your first 90 days! And even if you’re in day 180 or beyond, use the advice above to tackle the next 90 days.
Steve Boehler, founder, and partner at Mercer Island Group has led consulting teams on behalf of clients as diverse as Ulta Beauty, Microsoft, UScellular, Nintendo, Kaiser Permanente, Holland America Line, Stop & Shop, Qualcomm, Brooks Running, and numerous others. He founded MIG after serving as a division president in a Fortune 100 when he was only 32. Earlier in his career, Steve Boehler cut his teeth with a decade in Brand Management at Procter & Gamble, leading brands like Tide, Pringles, and Jif.
Mercer Island Group helps marketers and agencies succeed. Company leadership is as much at home with marketers and their C-Suites as in an agency’s boardroom. With marketers, Mercer Island Group is a top 5 agency search consultancy covering all types of agency relationships (creative, media, web, PR, experiential) and assists marketers with marketing organization structure, workflow and critical skill development (briefing, creative evaluation & feedback, etc.). The company also supports leading and aspiring agencies with positioning, pitch and strategy training and pitch support.