Any transition to a new role, while exciting and an acknowledgement of what the organization thinks of us, is a time of anxiety for the newly transitioning leader.

A few of the common errors of a new role leader include trying to do too much too soon, failure to understand the de facto culture/sub culture, and/or misinterpreting the expectations of their superior. Danger lurks ahead….. in the form of mistrust by others, leader fatigue, compounding anxiety with over preparation, and creation of an unsafe environment for employees. As stress intensifies for the new role leader, can you really be making the best decisions for the organization as a whole, your team and yourself?

A recent research article from the University of Washington reported the findings of imposing stress on rats. It took only one uncontrollable stressful episode to greatly effect the behavior of a rat. It actually took the rat several days to recover from the effects of the stressor and return to normal decision making ability. The learning of the stressed rat control group was delayed. As well, this group was unable to readily adjust to alterations made in the imposed stress exercise. Stress altered the ability to learn, the ability to remain agile, and the ability to make decisions. How does this convert to humans? Well, the scientific community has been using rats as study participants for years…there must be something to their selection.

As I look to newly transitioning leaders whom I have coached over the past 5 years, I relate to the news of the above study. Stress has a tremendous effect on performance levels and at a time when a leader is under the microscope and readily judged by others. Clients have shared with me how this has manifested for them and projected in all areas of their life. Many suffer from extreme sleep disturbances and/ or dietary challenges.

I have worked with leaders who admitted that they had hardly slept in two months and leaders who existed on a pop and pizza diet. It is rewarding as a coach to support leaders in these circumstances and be part of the process that allows them to gain back a feeling of balance and control……rewarding them with restful nights rather than a continuum of wide eyed 3 AM note taking sessions. With invested and targeted support, these leaders can bring about greater contribution to the organization in a shortened time frame as they learn to manage their stress, embrace the transition, garner early credibility and move powerfully forward with their leadership.

What is the cost to an organization of not readily investing in the transitioning new role leader? As this is an area of continued research for me I repeatedly see transitioning phases of 14 – 24 months in executive level roles. More complex portfolios can exceed this timeframe. This is not just about the leader’s transition. One must take into consideration the transitional impact on those who surround the leader and the cost to the organization when their performance falters as a result of how the new role leader shows up for others.

What is your personal experience in a recent transition, either as the leader or as a direct report to a newly transitioning leader? While you are drinking from a fire hose, what soothing techniques have you found that help to manage anxiety and stress for you? In hindsight, how do you feel your decision making during a recent leadership transition may have been impaired?

Recently I had the opportunity to lunch and celebrate the New Year with a former professor of mine, Marilyn Hamilton, whom I met while doing my graduate work. I have  enormous respect for Marilyn and realized I was absolutely pumped following our lunch together. She has become a very special person in my life and a valued ‘advisor’.

Following two years of hard work Marilyn recently completed and published an intriguing book! She enthusiastically shared her exciting research encompassing a ‘whole system view’ of creating productive cities that had enormous potential for addressing the diverse needs of the today’s diverse populations. The result was publication of an exceptionally worthy and forward thinking book entitled ‘Integral Cities, Evolutionary Intelligences for the Human Hive’ . Powerfully aligned with the field of urban studies, Marilyn mentioned, “It’s been extremely interesting to hear the many unsolicited and exciting responses to my book and how its application and meaning have actually extended far beyond what my intent had initially been” (listen Marilyn.)

I’ve read with delight an interview that Marilyn had engaged in while promoting her book. It was obvious from the content of the interview that the application of her model was totally applicable to a diversity of today’s public and private sector organizations. Using two of her favorite expressions, Marilyn and I engaged in our rich conversation around conformity enforcers and diversity generators. What great terms! She had been able to capture the blinding glimpse of the obvious around how readily the bee community and their various roles truly show up in all organizations.

Marilyn made note of the fact that the energy of conformity enforcers, that she claims make up 90 % of a hive community, quickly diminishes over the course of each season as the bees gather resources from the same flower patch. She explained that the inner judges of a hive, measure the return and withhold and/or reallocate limited and precious fuel as pollen amounts decrease. Adjusting the budget mid-stream so to speak? She went on to explain that as the conformity enforcers eventually accept the need to change, they make the necessary shift to new resources and adjust to the new findings of the diversity generators….a new flower patch. The outcome for the hive……. new found energy!  The roles of both the conformity enforcers and diversity generators are vital to the survival of the hive….and to any business community for that matter!  Presto, explaining the behavior of many an organization in today’s world of white water change and transition.

I’ve found the ‘hive’ metaphor an exciting prism to view organizational leadership from with huge possibilities for further exploration and study. Clearly, bees must be doing something right to coexist in a container the size of my shoulder bag and yet readily adapt to change!

How readily do the conformity enforcers in your organization embrace the work of your diversity generators? How critical in today’s world is the role of diversity generators who hold enormous potential for revitalizing the energy of others in each and every organization trying to survive and prosper? I would love to hear your thoughts and feelings. Go for it!

 ”How can I help my Boss?” This was a simple yet fascinating question asked by a recently hired senior operations executive regarding his boss, the President. The President, who I also coach, had hired me to provide Accelerated Leadership Transition Coaching services to assure the success of this new acquisition to the executive team. Her organization had invested considerable time, money and effort in finding and bringing this unique individual on board and she was determined to protect that investment and accelerate his successful transition. In coaching him toward formulating answers to his question, the following piece was shared with him and was intended to bein service of deepening his intention, providing alternate perspective(s) and putting him in choice as to how he might truly be there for the organization and the President. The end result was his being in amazing clarity around next steps. The author is unknown, but it has always intrigued and been received very positively by all my executive clients when introduced. It is called ‘The Fixer’.

• A fixer has the illusion of being causal. A server knows s/he is being used in the service of something greater, essentially unknown.
• We fix something specific. We serve always something: wholeness and the mystery of life.
• Fixing and helping are the work of the ego. Serving is the work of the soul.
• When you help, you see life as weak. When you fix you see life as broken. When you serve you see life as whole.
• Fixing and helping may cure. Service heals.
• When I help, I feel satisfaction. When I serve, I feel gratitude.
• Fixing is a form of judgment. Serving is a form of connection.

What does this mean for you? What is the blinding glimpse of the obvious? What small or large change in perspective does this create? What are in the possibilities for you?