As a follow-up to my last series on Advancing Your Career, I got a number of questions regarding the actual interview and selection process itself. I'm going to focus the next few episodes on this topic, in order to help you get the opportunities that you are passionate about, and help you grow into a position of leadership. Let's get started.
Step 1: The Plan
When you interview for a position of leadership, you will likely be asked for a plan. The question will vary, but will probably be something to the effect of, "Have you prepared a 30/60/90 plan?" Acing this question is key to being considered, but for many of us, we get crippled by the amount of unknowns surrounding the position that we're considering. Even if nobody asks you for a specific plan, you will interview better if you've thought it through and written it down. I'll make it manageable by breaking it down into 5 parts.
1/ Make a list of what you know and have observed.
Start with the very basics, and a blank sheet of paper. Write down everything that you know. For example, how big is the team, how is talent allocated, who are the strongest/weakest players, what are the goals as they have been explained to you, what is the market perspective on this initiative, what has worked for you in the past. This is a list primarily of facts and opinions, and in the end, it will help serve as a guide to frame up the rest of the plan. Think about the organization, think about your customers, and think about you personally, and come up with a list across all these dimensions. Leadership is a 360 degree task, and isn't about looking at the team and making change for change sake. It's considering all the internal and external factors in order to affect outcomes. Spend 15 minutes with pen and paper and make a list. After that, all the quick-wins are gone.
2/ Group this list into themes and prioritize the groups.
Write each idea onto a sticky note, or use a software solution like Mural, then arrange and re-arrange these ideas into groups. A funny story about this is that the last time I did this, I was in a conference room, and I had sticky notes plastered on all the walls with my ideas. The COO for my market unit walked by and asked what I was working on and I told him. He then proceeded to give me 15 minutes' worth of feedback on what he's observing. As a result of my grouping and his insight, I was able to categorize all the things that I observed into 3 groups: culture, quality, execution. From my vantage point, these were the three over-arching areas that the organization needed. When you do the grouping, you will likely have more groups than that, and there will be straggler ideas and observations. Eliminate all but the strongest ideas, probably no less than three, but no more than 5. Use this grouping to guide your next effort.
3/ Define realistic, time-based goals for each of your focus areas.
Create a plan to move the needle in the amount of time you've been given. I'll give an example based on my goal stated earlier on execution. The team that I was looking to inherit wasn't at capacity, and it had a number of headcount that had been open for a while. Closing that headcount gap was critical to getting the team functioning again. I made this a key focus of the 30 and 60 day aspects of the plan, with all open positions filled within 60 days. This was one example, but it is time based, measurable, and realistically attainable in the timeframe allotted. Build this out, and again, prune it back to what you can and want to accomplish in the timeframe.
4/ Compare your plan to the corporate calendar.
Now that you have a well-designed plan that shows your leadership and goals and gives people a solid understanding of why you're right for the role, it's time for a reality check. Take your plan and overlay it with the corporate calendar. For example, is there a quarterly close in the middle of your first 30 days? If there is, that may drastically inhibit your ability to accomplish your goals. Is there a budgeting or planning cycle happening? If so, you may need to prioritize certain activities sooner in order to be prepared to participate. Do you have large customer or industry events happening soon? The list could go on, but I think I've made my point. Make sure that you consider these corporate and outside influences in your plan and make adjustments as necessary to set yourself up for success. Finally, review this plan and make sure you're comfortable being held accountable for doing everything on this list.
5/ Rehearse the plan.
Go through it over and over, and have a 5, 15, and 30 minute walk-through of the plan available and memorized. When you interview with folks, you never know how the question will be asked. For example, I have had times where I presented the entire plan, in slideshow format from top to bottom complete. There are others who have simply asked a portion of the plan, "What are your 30/60/90 goals?" or "What do you want to accomplish in your first 90 days?" Depending on how the question is asked, you will want to have a different length answer prepared. This isn't the time to hesitate or stumble. I've had people flat out say, "I can email it to you if you want." For the love of everything good about your career, don't do this without walking through it first! I've also had people tell me that "I have an entire presentation and it would take too long to go through it." Don't do this either because you have just told your interviewer that you can't prioritize and communicate succinctly. Prepare for both situations and rehearse different length answers to the question. This is your plan; you should know it. What I recommend is to print it out, keep it close by, and read through it often, so that you can communicate it clearly in the time that you're given.
In this installment, I have shown you how to focus your attention on what matters most, define goals for success, and communicate these goals in order to make the maximum impact on your interview sessions. I've incorporated things that have worked well for me in the past, and also things that I have seen folks struggle with when I coach them. Nailing the 90 day plan is key to not just getting the position, but in hitting the ground running once you get there.
Until next time. Geoff