Mastering the Three R’s in Your New Administrative Role: Relationships, Reputation & Resilience

I love the freshness of a new job, and I’ve had more than my share of new jobs—lots of them. I became a master of well-orchestrated arrivals. I enjoyed all the early logistics—like when I would arrive at the office each day, where the best coffee spot was on my route, and how I would infuse my new office with light, inspiration, and a tone that says “Welcome!” Those first days in a new job felt so auspicious. I experienced everything in technicolor—wide-eyed, curious, and riding high on the wave of early attention from all I met.

Fast forward to my work as an executive coach today. Many of my clients can relate to my rosy nostalgia as the new kid in the organization’s leadership team. They describe the full spectrum of new hire sensations—from the euphoric buzz of what they might accomplish in their role to the eventual reality check of sticky problems that were not fully addressed before they arrived (e.g., “Let’s let the newbie tackle that.”) For them, and for you if you have recently taken on a new role, I ask this question:

How will you leverage your honeymoon on the job while adding organizational value from day 1?  

What’s perhaps obvious at first is to methodically learn and master all those duties and responsibilities outlined in your position description. After all, those bullet points likely represent the metrics against which your performance will eventually be assessed. If you execute them well, your executive future with the organization is golden, right? Not necessarily. Doing the job as written by your HR department covers merely the basics and never offers guidance to broaden your capacity as an executive with clear potential for success. In fact, there are three skills areas never documented on the PD that will become your biggest starter superpowers: relationships, reputation, and resilience.

Relationships 

Whatever your new role, the people who become part of your organizational network matter as much as the job duties you execute. Consider developing a file of work relationships that call for special attention. It might include notes from your conversations, observations about their priorities, even birthdays and the names of family members and pets if they come up. You want to be seen. So do your colleagues.

Also, you surely have many lateral relationships that, if tended to, can bolster your success if skillfully managed. If you are responsible for the recruitment and performance of staff, your relationship with HR is vitally important. If you manage resources, divisional finance officials can be tremendous allies. If you orchestrate big events, your organization’s facilities staff can be your best friends.

Reputation 

So many new leaders become so absorbed in their new roles, they lose sight of the reputation that helped them land the new role in the first place. Keep the people who have championed you in the loop as you advance in your new role. Call them. E-mail them. Text them. And especially, thank them for serving as references and advisors. Offer to keep them updated as you expand your reputation in the new job. This is such an easy thing to do, and it can be a tremendous day-maker for those whose lives have touched our own.

Your reputation includes your online presence. When people Google you, they will be directed to whatever you, and others, have posted about you online. I have worked clients who have started new jobs and never bothered to update their LinkedIn. Nothing says lack of attention to detail like an outdated or typo-ridden profile with an old head shot (or worse, no head shot). Announce your new job on LinkedIn, freshen your profile, and demonstrate that you are the author of your career story.

Resilience 

New jobs can be overwhelming. There is a lot to learn, many people to meet, and an unfamiliar organizational culture to digest. Your new job can be exhausting, and it can do a number on your self-confidence. Try to reframe all you don’t yet know as an opportunity to investigate like a great explorer. Tap your self-compassion, and give yourself credit each day for even the small steps that bring you closer to that feeling of competence on the job.

The people you hold close can also ensure your resilience. Nurture your network of what Irish author John O’Donohue called your Anam Caras, or “soul friends.” There are times you need such friends to cheer you on, and there are times we need them to call you on your delusions. Especially as a newcomer, take the time to cultivate an eclectic group of besties outside your organization who ably pivot between both roles. These are the people you call when you want to float a brilliant idea, and these are your coffee dates and Zoom chats when you are struggling with a nasty political crisis. Your Anam Caras have your back, and they get you out of your head.

Even when you do all the right things, it is important not to lose all those new moments in so much orchestrated strategy that you become numb to how darn interesting it all actually is!  You only get to do this particular new leadership gig once, just once.  And you owe it to your organization and yourself to experience it fully: the ups, the downs, and the countless contributions made and lessons learned.

Your race for rapid impact is a whole lot sweeter when you experience it in real time, all of it.

Written by Andrew Tracy Ceperley.
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