About 2 years ago I had the privilege of stepping into an existing organization and leading it through transition. This was a division responsible for a number of different initiatives in our company. For varying reasons this division was not reaching it’s potential and I was excited about the challenge of trying to get it moving again.

I learned so much during this time and I’m happy to say we were able to turn this division around. When I left it had momentum and now under its current leadership it is growing faster and experiencing more success than ever before.

If you are leading a new division or are ever presented the challenge of a turn around, I want to encourage you to keep in mind the following principles:

1. Meet with the team
Meet with the leaders and then with their teams. Together, individually whatever you feel will give you the best — and most accurate — lay of the land. Many leaders may not feel comfortable with you meeting with their teams without them. Oh well, remember, you were brought in to lead b/c this organization is currently not winning. You HAVE to figure out why. Who’s to say the people currently leading will continue to lead when it all shakes out? Your first job is to understand the business. Understand the challenges and opportunities. To do this, you need honest feedback. Get that however you can.

2. Identify the Influencers
Remember he with the influence is the leader. Pay no attention to titles at this point. You have to figure out who people respond to. Who has the influence? You’ll find out real quick that some of these people are leading the team in the right direction and some in the wrong direction. Of course, based on that you will have to make some moves. Enlist these influencers (the positive ones) to help you move this thing. This is an easy task. Trust me, you’re there b/c the organization wasn’t winning and I can assure you nobody is ready to change more than these people.

3. Get the Facts
Don’t accept what you’ve been told about who’s producing and who isn’t. Look at the numbers. Look at results. You have the benefit of not having gone through drama with this team. You can easily remove the emotional baggage (it always exists) and look at the business for what it is. After doing this, decide what team members are producing and what ones are not. Adjust accordingly.

4. Define You
Let the team know who you are. How you lead. What they can expect of you. What you won’t tolerate. How do you define winning and, specifically, how can they win on your team?

5. Change the Physical Environment
Make sure people see change, not just hear about it. There should be no question that things are different when you arrive.

6. Treat People like Adults
My experience has been that people want to be spoken to honestly and directly. It may hurt but they appreciate it. Fact is most of the time, you’re not presenting anything to them they didn’t already know. You may have just been the first one to actually say it. It’s often a relief to have it out on the table. Always treat people with dignity. If someone is winning, praise them publicly. If someone isn’t getting the job done critique & challenge them privately. Never forget this.

7. Get Quick Wins
Don’t come in with huge goals that will take months to accomplish. Your team needs to experience some victories early and often. Lay out some goals that they can achieve quickly. When they do CELEBRATE them and. . .

8. Reward Success
You’ve met with the team, identified the influencers, looked at facts, treated people like adults and with dignity, changed the environment and cast the new vision. Now encourage your team to run and win. They want to. So allow them to do that. When they do. . . reward them. Whatever that looks like. (It’s not always financial) Reward a job well done.

This was on my mind today. Not sure why but I wanted to get it written out while it was fresh. Sorry, no core value today, however, I hope there’s a few things in here that will help you as you lead.