Starting Out and Breaking Out

Whether you are emerging in your career or switching to a new company, you are facing a steep learning curve. They say starting a new job ranks right up there with moving house on the stress meter.

A fresh perspective is valuable.

In addition to the copious notes on new procedures, keep a list of questions and observations. You may not know yet who to go to for answers – but you’ll learn to navigate the departments soon enough.  More importantly, you are bursting with “we should try X”, “why aren’t we already doing Y”, and “at my old job we did Z.”

This is a result of the rapid fire connections you are making between your unique combination of past workplace experiences, the new team and resources you now have and your personal beliefs. The verve of aligning your skills with the vision of the company was crystal clear during your interview process – you are now ready to apply it! 

That’s awesome. Hang on to that energy, write it down and find the best path.

Organizational Change.

Bringing you on means change for the organization. Any small question of “Why do we do it this way?” can actually be questioning a delicate balance of power, ritual and accumulated institutional knowledge.

If the answer you get back is: "That’s the way we do things around here."

My first instinct is to

If that is not an option, check out Kotter’s Model for an 8-step process of leading change. The new buzzword is “intrapreneur” (God help us) and the most useful framework I’ve found is the Competing Values Framework developed by Jeff DeGraff. Check out the Opera Conference 2013 presentation given by one of Jeff’s protégés, Ann-Li Cooke (she's on at 1:14:20).

Why it matters.

• Avoid frustration when you are not able to implement everything you want to immediately. 
• Find a positive and productive path for applying your valuable skills and ideas.
• Understand how organizational culture and history are factors in navigating change going forward.