Sudden change in the workplace can be tricky
Amy Joyce

THE big bosses bring in a leader whose history at the helm and enthusiasm make him seem like the Second Coming, and who has new ideas, energy and determination to change things. But if the new superstar does not take the company's history or culture into account before he turns the organisation's identity upside down, it could be disastrous: low morale, shattered expectations, and grumblings that his grand ideas are overblown hype.

"There's a normal honeymoon period," says Mary Jane Reed, regional vice-president of a leadership development and consulting company. "They are excited because of the person's credentials and think this person's going to be the savior." If there is a sense that the new person has the vision the organisation wanted, the honeymoon lasts longer. But if this person treats other team members with disdain or doesn't let some of the stars do what they are used to doing, Reed says, "I've seen honeymoons end very quickly.''

What Saunders wants really might be the right decision. But if a corporate leader doesn't get the team on board, even the right decision can fail. Clay Parcells experienced that first hand when he hired someone to turn around a division in an insurance company years ago. Parcells could tell something wasn't going well. After listening to some of the employees, he realised his new manager didn't sit down with the team "and talk about what was going well--he just said, 'This is my show now,' '' Parcells says.

"That's what superstars tend to do: 'I've been successful my way and this is the way it's going to be.' " The new division head listened to Parcells, started over with the employees and turned the division around, says Parcells, now a vice-president with Right Management Consultants. Parcells thinks Gibbs is doing what every chief executive should.

"The great thing about Gibbs is that he lets his coaches coach,'' Parcells says. The thing to watch is if and when he pulls Saunders back at all. "Maybe he needs to have a tighter rein.'' Perhaps Saunders just needs a little more time, Reed says. "When you're in the middle of change, it always looks like failure," she says. "It takes a lot of willpower from upper management to stick with someone." This happens particularly with a new leader in an organisation in desperate need of change, filled with disgruntled employees who assume that if things don't turn around immediately, they never will. "If they really are trying to make a significant change, you just have to wait it out a wee bit longer,'' Reed says.

Nancy McCarthy, an executive coach with a company, says this advice will work for bosses :

• Brainstorm on the whiteboard: List specific goals and the steps it will take to achieve them, then list the skills and abilities needed in each position to reach those goals.

• Figure out what is missing in each position and make sure not too many people on a team have the same skills. "Like the business saying, 'If two people on a team are always agreeing, you have one person on the team too many,' '' she says.

• Look for skills and abilities not used in someone's current position and consider moving that person.

• If all team members have the skills and abilities needed, look at the attitude, emotions and the game inside their heads. Is everyone's mind in a winning place? We all know we can make mistakes because of our mental outlook.

• Evaluate if everyone is pulling together as part of the team or if some team members are more focused on being individual superstars.

• Most important is to coach, motivate and encourage the positive, not the negative. This is often hard for managers and the big bosses, but a little positive reinforcement goes a long way. How can a company or team expect an employee or player to keep doing what he's doing well if he isn't praised for it?