By Pamela J. Gallagher 

When you are hired into a position after someone has left the organization, my advice is this: Don’t speak ill of the departed! You may not find things in good order, or the way you would like to have left them. However, don’t take the low-hanging fruit of blaming your predecessor for every issue that arises, and don’t accept finger-pointing from your new team either.  In my decades of experience, there is always more to a situation than meets the eye.

Perhaps the person you followed had different organizational priorities they had to align with or had different talents or expertise.  Maybe they lacked time or resources or were dealing with an overbearing board of directors. There may have been a lack of a cohesive senior leadership team.  The state of an organization can cause focus on one area, while another area does not get attention. Be fair to your predecessor—they likely addressed one problem area so that it would make it easier for the next person to make improvements other areas.  

By focusing your efforts on getting perspective on the current problems and their context rather than pointing fingers and leading your team to do the same, you can make positive impacts more quickly while also creating a culture where others are spoken of with respect.

Ask questions.

Rather than focus on what’s wrong, focus on what to do next. To determine the current priorities, you need to ask the right questions.

• Where are we right now?

• How did we get here?

• What is at the root of these issues?

• What are the top priorities? What has to happen first?

• How can we build on the progress that has already been made?

You also need to get comfortable asking for help. Too often, people who are new to an organization are hesitant to reach out for help because they don’t want to be seen as incompetent. But the smart person learns how to effectively ask for help and knows when to ask for it.

As you solidify your understanding of the problems, speak up about what resources are needed to find solutions. It is the organization's responsibility and those leading to know when additional help or expertise is needed. This doesn’t necessarily require replacing current staffing. Perhaps directing and mentoring is the best path. Often organizations can hire someone temporarily to supplement, augment, or lend specific expertise or talents for the most urgent tasks at hand. Make sure that you document and leave information to ensure that any processes can be clearly understood and used as a platform for the future. Knowledge transfer is a critical, ongoing part of an engagement.

Remember: Someone will follow after you!

Never lose sight of the fact that eventually you will be the predecessor with someone following behind you.  Consider how you would want people talking about you and your work after you are gone. Focus on specific tasks and the possible improvements and solutions within them.

When I think about the kind of professional legacy I want to build, I would like to leave a positive difference to the places I have been fortunate to have served. In each problem you tackle or project you take on, follow Robert Bayden Powell’s advice and “leave it better than you found it.”

Resources:

4 Tips to Effectively Ask for Help—and Get a Yes, Psychology Today

Toast to the Departed, Joincake