You’ve recently been promoted to manager; have transitioned from an Individual Contributor (IC) to a team lead role, or have been tasked with informally leading a group through a must succeed project. Now what?
With less than a few days or weeks to prepare for your new responsibilities, you come to the conclusion that you are in over your head and most certainly have not been prepared for the task at hand.
Having worked with close to 1,500 leader-managers from all levels across 16-industries, we hope it is comforting to know that 90% of them all felt the same way and many still do. Even the most well put together CEO leading a global company has shared the sheer fear that “if the board ever found out that I have no clue what I am doing, I would be fired!”
Excelling in this new position requires a manager to be human in the way they relate to themselves and others, learn as much as they can about what makes others tick, try and fail with new tools and techniques, and most importantly cast a picture of the future that others want to buy-in to.
The courage to step outside of your comfort zone as an Individual Contributor and articulate a vision that you will be held accountable for is discomforting. This is why we have built the impact multiplier which is a 15-minute planning activity to sharpen your thinking of the future.
The Impact Multiplier Tool
Business planning involves four reflections: What’s going well today? What do we want to achieve tomorrow? What is the gap between today and tomorrow? And what is our reason for being?
Step 1 (The Mission: Defining Our Why)
- We exist to _______________ to/for _______________ so that ________________.
In building your impact clarifier we begin with a simple IMPACT STATEMENT. This statement forms the basis of your further planning work and is a mission statement of sort.
Step 2 (The Reality)
The next step is to identifying the core functions that your unit provides and identifying how well these services are meeting the needs of your clients.
Step 3 (The Gap)
Thinking of your core client groups (both internally and internally), attempt to get inside their heads and see what they are looking to get more of from your department or division and less of.
Step 4 (The Future Plan)
Now that you have a clearer idea as to how your team is currently contributing and what the business is expecting you can now map out your top project priorities on making this happen.
Step 5 (Share & Monitor)
After completing this activity share it with your team; receive input and monitor monthly to see you are on track.
