How to help the new kids at school

For many people across the country, September marks the start of a new adventure:  starting school, moving up to secondary school, moving into a new school year, or leaving home to go to University.

It’s a time of great anticipation and excitement but also a time of significant change that can cause feelings of uncertainty and anxiety if not managed well.

These days, there is a lot of advice and guidance available to children and young adults making these big transitions.  It’s now quite common for schools to arrange multiple induction days, to assign buddies and mentors, to organise social and team events, and to provide bespoke pastoral care for new students.

Yet, for people starting new jobs, at whatever age or status in life, there is rather more of a sink or swim attitude. 

All too frequently, employers recruit people to ‘save the day’ - to enter the organisation fully formed with the skills to do the job, even better than their predecessors did.  But when employers place too much emphasis on what a person has already achieved rather than what they have the potential to achieve, they risk leaving to chance that person’s ability to make a successful transition into a new role.

Such blind confidence could have a detrimental impact on how organisations manage induction, orientation and onboarding during the initial months of a new employees experience.  The new employee may feel unsupported, bewildered or overwhelmed which may lead them to quickly decide that they made the wrong career decision; meanwhile the employer may feel let down and disappointed that they didn’t get the results that they had hoped for.  Needless to say, this won’t end well.

So, how can we help the new kids at school?

Induction, orientation and onboarding has got to be about more than having a shiny new pencil case and a full timetable.  The psychological, emotional and personal development of a new employee must also be considered.  That means employers must start thinking about their new recruits as work in progress - an investment in the future - rather than the finished article.

This subtle change of mindset has the potential to transform the way people enter organisations, particularly at a more senior level, when expectations are high and the cost of failure is substantial.

One way of providing the right type of support to a new Manager is to match them with an Executive Coach to help them through their first 90 days.

During this critical period, when the new Manager feels the full weight of expectation, they can meet with the Executive Coach to discuss any problems or opportunities that they are experiencing.  The Executive Coach can help them to manage any frustrations and any feelings of overwhelm that come hand in hand with change, and they can help the Manager to address any characteristics that might be making it harder for them to integrate. 

What’s more, the Executive Coach can also help the Manager to establish personal and professional credibility with their new teams, peers and superiors by helping them to make early commercial wins. The Executive Coach can hold the Manager accountable, they can stretch, push, challenge, cajole and motivate them to achieve their goals in a safe and trusting environment.

The Manager can also utilise their Executive Coaching sessions to talk through new strategies for building effective relationships, and how to identify the key players and influencers that will be instrumental in getting things done fast.

Importantly, by contextualising their experience, the Executive Coach can help the Manager detach from their previous organisation and acquire a clearer understanding of the new organisation’s culture, values and processes so that they can develop strategies that enhance their ability to integrate quickly and effectively into the organisation.

The outcomes of a great Executive Coaching programme will be seen in higher levels of employee retention, wellbeing and engagement, better communication and relationships, and much stronger performance and productivity.

A 90 day Executive Coaching programme can help new Managers to reach their full potential much more quickly than if they were left to their own devices, so that they don’t feel like a new kid at school for very long.

Notion is a global expert in behaviour change.  For more information about how our first class 90 day Executive Coaching programmes, led by some of the UK’s leading Executive Coaches, can transform the experience of new people joining your organisation and help them to make faster, better, more sustainable contributions to your business, click here or call us for an informal chat on +44(0)1926 889 885.

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