When new client Larry told me he was struggling in his new role I had a feeling he was being unnecessarily tough on himself.

We started working together to get him up to speed in his new role and focus on where he can add the most value the quickest.  So far, fair enough.

Here’s the thing though, he’s been in post for 8 weeks.

He’d been on holiday for 2 of those weeks.

So, in all, he’s been active in post for only 30 working days.  6 weeks.

I asked him along the lines of 

“So Larry, if you had a colleague or friend you really respected who’d been parachuted (his phrase) in to a new role where there were lots of challenges being directed to him daily AND it was a new industry for him, what would you say to him if he said to you he was struggling to get to grips with it all after 30 days?“

We both know where I’m going with this don’t we?

It’s too soon.  Too soon to be too comfortable.  Why would you be?  It’s new to you…

Larry said, somewhat sheepishly, he’d tell the person to stop being so rough on themselves, to give themselves a break and to be the learner not the fixer for at least the next 6 months.

Ha!

It’s so easy as we get older, and supposedly wiser (!), to assume we have to know it all.  Be brilliant straight out of the gate.  Prove ourselves when we’re learning something new.

It’s not fair nor is it, interestingly, the best use of your time as a ‘newbie’.

When you’re new to a role it’s your time to ask questions.  To be thoughtful and considerate about “how we do things around here” and to notice what you notice.

You know I’m not suggesting you loaf about all day reading the company intranet but I am suggesting you give yourself a break.

And people want you to be curious, not to “know everything” and ride roughshod over the history of what they’re doing.  

We adapted a few words as well.  

Larry kept saying he wanted to make smart changes.

Hmm.  Provocative words and easy to wind people up if you say just that.  

Smart implies it’s really not at the moment.  And changes, people are much more open to considering adjustments (which can be changes, just not called so out of the gate).

We decided “a few adjustments to the XYZ system” or “a way to save time by adjusting how we ABC“.

So.  Larry and I will meet in a couple of months after his first few Board meetings and Senior Leadership Team gatherings.  

He sounded far more relaxed and relieved that he was where he needed to be now (rather than where he thought he should be).

A final word on the matter…

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“I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.”

                                                                                                                   ― Pablo Picasso

 And in other news…

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Snowy and I went to London again this week to see Frank Skinner, one of our comedy heroes.  He stood on stage for about 90 minutes telling stories, involving the front row of the audience and making me laugh aloud, a lot.  I realised too that the man next to me had a really infectious laugh.  That just added to the merriment!  As much as London is an energetic rollercoaster for me now and Piccadilly Circus even more so, it was worth it.

The hounds were thrilled to see me when I picked them up from their overnight stay in Kennels.  Thought this cartoon was really funny – despite the curse word – knowing the difference between dog and cat world!