First-Time Leader

GEORGE BRADT has a unique perspective on transformational leadership based on his experience as an executive, consultant, and writer. After two decades in sales, marketing and general management around the world, now he is a Principal of CEO Connection, Managing Director of the executive onboarding group PrimeGenesis, author of a weekly column on Forbes.com and of five books on onboarding including The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan. George can be reached at gbradt@primegenesis.com.GILLIAN DAVIS has a new generation’s view on leadership through her work in marketing, recruiting and coaching. After witnessing and experiencing dissatisfied employees leaving their jobs, not because of the role, but because of poor managers, she is now on a mission to help first-time leaders inspire and enable their teams. Gillian can be reached at @gilliandavis07 or Gillian@firsttimeleader.tv

• Acknowledgments xi Part I Getting Started 1Chapter 1 Overview: Congratulations! It’s Great to Be a Leader. You’ve Earned It. And Your New Job Is Going to Be a Wild Ride 3Part I: Getting Started 3Part II: Build Your BRAVE Leadership from the Outside In 5Part III: Leading Small, Medium, and Large Teams 7Chapter 2 Take Charge of Your New Team 11Moving into Your First Leadership Role from Outside 11Tool 2.1: Onboarding Risk Assessment 13Tool 2.2: BRAVE Onboarding 16Getting Promoted to Your First Leadership Role from Within 26Summary: Take Charge of Your New Team 34Chapter 3 The BRAVE Leadership Success Framework: Behaviors, Relationships, Attitude, Values, Environment 35Behaviors: How You Get Things Done through Other People 35Relationships: The Heart of Leadership 36Attitude: Make Crucial Choices around Your Team’s Strategy, Posture, and Culture 36Values: Align Yourself and Your Team with the Organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values—More or Less 36Environment: Get Clear on Your Mission and Fields of Action 36Building up the BRAVE Leadership Framework from the Outside In 37Part II Build Your BRAVE Leadership from the Outside In 39Chapter 4 Environment: Get Clear on Your Mission and Fields of Action 41Understand Context 42Tool 4.1: 5Cs Situation Analysis Guidelines 44Align around an Interpretation of the Situation Assessment 47Tool 4.2: SWOT 49Tool 4.3: Profi t Pools 50Make Clear Choices around Where to Play and Where Not to Play 50Tool 4.4: Where to Play Choices 56Summary: Where to Play 56Chapter 5 Values: Align Yourself and Your Team with the Organization’s Mission, Vision, and Values—More or Less 59The Secret of Happiness 60Link between Happiness and Purpose 61Mission 61Tool 5.1: Mission 62Vision 63Tool 5.2: Vision 64Values 64Tool 5.3: Values 66Coherence 66Summary: What Matters 67Chapter 6 Attitude: Make Crucial Choices around Your Team’s Strategy, Posture, and Culture 69Strategy 69Tool 6.1: Strategic Planning 73Tool 6.2: Business Plan Elements 74Posture 75Tool 6.3: Posture Mapping 77Culture 77Tool 6.4: Culture Assessment 81Summary: How to Win 83Chapter 7 Relationships: The Heart of Leadership 85Communication Frameworks 85Tool 7.1: Communication Planning 93Tool 7.2: Writing Guidelines 98Tool 7.3: BRAVE Meeting Management 100Tool 7.4: Press Interview Management 104How to Hire Great People 105Tool 7.5: Recruitment Methods Analysis 111Tool 7.6: Recruiting Brief 112Tool 7.7: Job Requirement Checklist 113Tool 7.8: Candidate Sourcing 116Tool 7.9: Interview Guide 122Tool 7.10: Interview Debrief Form 123Tool 7.11: Reference Inquiry Authorization Form 124Tool 7.12: Reference Inquiry 125Bringing New Hires into the Team 127Tool 7.13: Offer Closing Process 128Tool 7.14: Announcement Cascade 129Tool 7.15: Accommodation Checklist 131Tool 7.16: Assimilation Checklist 132Tool 7.17: Acceleration Checklist 133Managing People Who Are Doing Well—and Not So Well 136Tool 7.18: Career Planning 138Tool 7.19: Development Plan 139Tool 7.20: SMART Goals 141Tool 7.21: Team Charter 142Tool 7.22: People Management Tools 145Tool 7.23: Managing Behavior 146Tool 7.24: Performance Assessment 149Tool 7.25: Succession Planning 151Summary: How to Connect 153Chapter 8 Behaviors: How You Get Things Done through Other People 155Delegating, Innovating, and Negotiating 155Tool 8.1: Innovation Guidelines 159Tool 8.2: Negotiating 162Sales and Marketing 163Tool 8.3: Purchase Funnel 163Tool 8.4: Strategic Selling 165Tool 8.5: BRAVE Creative Brief 166Operating Processes 168Tool 8.6: Senior Management Trip Planning 169Tool 8.7: Milestone Management 173Tool 8.8: Quarterly Cadence 177BRAVE Crisis Management 178Tool 8.9: Crisis Management 100-Hour Action Plan 183Summary: What Impact 186Part III Leading Small, Medium, and Large Teams 187Chapter 9 With Teams of Less Than 10 People, Adopt a Start-Up Mind-Set 189Why the Way You Lead Today Is Going to Be Inadequate Tomorrow 189Solve a Problem Shared by Many 191Assemble a Team of Like-Minded Individuals with Diverse Strengths 192Lock in Values 194Summary: Start with Environment and Values 199Chapter 10 Lead Teams of 10 to 20 Like an Extended Family 201What Matters 201How to Win 201Managing the Evolution of Your Start-Up’s Corporate Culture 201Why Culture Matters Today 202The Building Blocks of the Vocus Culture 202Sustaining and Building Culture 203Team Expansion 203People Management and Operating Practices 203Feedback 204Summary: Evolve Attitude 204Chapter 11 If You’re Leading More Than 30 People, Hierarchy Is Your Friend 205Work on the Organization 205Enabling Practices 205Embedding Operational Practices 206Vision and Values 207Summary: Team Evolution 208Notes 209References 213About the Authors 215Index 217