Unless something else takes center stage, we are about to enter into a media frenzy focused on President Obama’s performance during his first 100 days in office.
If you just took a new role, assuming it’s not in sports or politics, you can be thankful that your own performance isn’t being publicly discussed in every venue possible. At the same time, you can be sure that people are indeed watching and evaluating you.
Here’s a outline on how to get it right out the shoot:
Game Plan
As far as a ‘game plan’ goes, the President had it easy. For the past two plus years, he’s been creating a platform of what he wants to accomplish through the campaign. Sure, conditions like the economic meltdown create changes, but overall he came into the job with a solid plan.
Don’t wander through your first few months adrift at sea or simply reacting to requests and direction. Create a game plan of what you want to accomplish and measure yourself against it.
Tie out with your management and peers to ensure that you really understand the role–like everything in our fast paced culture, the job is likely to evolve and morph as priorities change. This isn’t the time to make assumptions, this is the time to be actively seeking input.
Network
The honeymoon phase of any new job is the time to meet with everyone you can. You’ll want to engage with the troops, with the opposition, with your peers and your upper management. You too, might want to dust off the passport and meet people internationally if you job calls for it.
Months down the road, it may be awkward or frowned upon to meet with some of the people you can get away with meeting in your first couple of months. Don’t waste that opportunity.
Early Wins
Seek some early wins. You’ll feel more confident and the team will take notice. Whether that’s as simple as taking a task off of a peer’s plate or leveraging a work product or idea from a previous role, adding value in this economy out the shoot will get you recognized.
Keep in mind that your management probably fell on their swords to get the role you now occupy open. Someone you work with may have wanted that promotion themselves. Being on top of it from day one is key to getting everyone aligned and behind you. It’s unbelievable how important those first few months really are.
