Being new all over again

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So… you’re thinking of taking the plunge and leaving a job that you love. You know that as a line manager or senior member of staff, you’ve skills to offer but you’re no longer challenged where you are. It’s exciting to see what’s out there, but leaving a familiar and comfortable space in favour of a new role can cause apprehension. That’s only natural. Chances are you’ll have weighed up the pros and cons with questions including: “Am I doing the right thing?” What if I stay and it turns out to be the wrong thing?” “What if I leave and that turns out to be the wrong thing?” As the song goes: ‘Should I say or should I go?’ is not an easy question to answer when it comes to leaving an organisation.

So who better to ask then someone who did just that. We interviewed our very own Joss Bruce, who joined the Management Centre to cover maternity leave as our Marketing Manager. Read on for Joss’s reflections on what she learned during her year with us and also what she discovered about herself:

=mc: Hi Joss and as we’re coming up to the end of your tenure, this interview feels quite apt. Can you share what made you take the plunge and leave your last role?

Joss: Hi there and sure as it was not an easy decision. I’d spent the past seven years with the Evelina Children’s Hospital at Guys & St Thomas’s. Although the role was demanding, the visible rewards in helping patients on their road to recovery were immense plus I really liked the people I worked with. Despite this, I just sensed I’d gone as far as I could and needed a new challenge. With a background in PR, marketing and internal comms, I couldn’t find a role at Guy’s that fitted the options I was searching for, so I looked externally and discovered the Management Centre was recruiting.

=mc: How did you feel about stepping into a new role?

Joss: There was a mixture of excitement and trepidation. Being the ‘newbie’ again, especially after a good few years, means you are leaving a position where you know intuitively how the land lies and departing from that can be daunting. But that’s where experience comes in handy. With the safety of your managerial knowledge you can feel excited about the new lease of life you didn’t know you needed.

=mc: Could you tell me more about what you needed to consider?

Joss: There were two areas I had on my mind – making sure the team I was leaving was going to be OK and of course making sure I was going to be OK.  Anyone who has told their team they were heading off to somewhere shiny and new may well have received a mixture of goodwill that you’re moving on and shock and sentiments might include ‘You’re leaving us? Why?’ and I didn’t want to worry them. So I focused on reassuring people – there was nothing wrong with the role I was leaving it was just my time to go. I focused then on finding roles that looked interesting and had learning for me. The role at =mc was something I had to carefully consider. It really appealed to me because of the customers and interesting work that happens here. But as this job was a contract position, the one thing I needed to work out was how I could add value whilst also ensuring the post-holder could come back to a job that was still working. In this type of scenario, you do need to hit the ground running but you also need to ensure you’re not colliding with people or running into trouble.

=mc: What helped you overcome those worries and make the move into your new role?

Joss: Being clear on your responsibilities as a manager can help lay the foundations for this kind of transition. It was important to me to ensure my leaving wasn’t going to cause my NHS colleagues to be left in the lurch. Drafting a set of Standard Operating Procedures or SOPs helped make the transition easier and also had a secondary benefit as it was helpful to look back on what we accomplished. I also focused on what else would help with the transition and this is where previous experience was an advantage. Having multi-faceted capabilities in the private, public and creative sectors were factors I could draw on and were instrumental in helping to smooth my transition from the NHS to the Management Centre.

=mc: What did your new colleagues need from you?

Joss: I joined =mc during a very busy period – just before April which in the UK is the run-up to the new financial year – so I had to get to grips with a successful dynamic that was fully in place. As a manager, I focused on building an understanding of how things worked. But I also had to be prepared to flex my approach. So I asked lots of questions and stayed curious. I was prepared to let go of what I knew to focus on what I needed to learn. Being able to pivot quickly helped a lot because what I discovered is that when you’re ‘elastic’ (for want of a better term) you’re less likely to get stuck in a way of doing things simply because that’s how you’re used to doing them. No matter how experienced you are, you will still need to grasp the working practices of your new colleagues. Building trust is crucial as a leader so generating goodwill is what will help steer you during those early stages.  Also, don’t try to do everything in your first week. Get to know the organisation you’ve joined. Find out where the gaps are so that your unique capabilities can make a positive difference.

=mc: What did you need from your colleagues?

Joss: I was given exactly what I needed which was ample opportunity to explore and discover =mc’s way of working. I felt comfortable from the word go because everyone was so welcoming and supportive. Plus I had access to a team of professional coaches – the same people who you may have met on some of your training were there when I needed them. When you begin anew, particularly at a senior level, you might not wish to be seen to be asking too many questions, but my colleagues were great in answering my queries. They were also open to my feedback. Overtime, as I got to grips with the role, I was able to bring my prior experience more into what we do now by making suggestions and trying new approaches. As a manager, I’m ultimately responsible for my area of expertise, so I couldn’t be shy in using that. A good thing as my colleagues have been great in listening to new ideas and methods.

=mc: What else do you think helps?

Joss: I think shadowing can be a great help. For example, attending some of the Management Centre’s courses meant I was able to see up close and personal the work of the consultants. As a Marketing Manager this was a massive plus because I was able speak with legitimacy on the effectiveness of the training and bring that into our communications, especially where we have been trying new things. If you’re a senior member of staff who’s new, you’ll already have intel on how to make your position work. So explore that but be open too to what you don’t yet know. This might be even more relevant if your role is remote or you’re leading a hybrid team – but that’s where the real exploration lies because as a new starter you’ll get to see more than just the wood and the trees, you can be a visionary able to identify new areas for improvement. As a manager you can then take responsibility for bringing these ideas to life.

=mc: That’s great to hear. But not everyone has that experience and may find the role isn’t working out. What advice would you give someone else in that position?

Joss: True and it’s difficult if the vibe isn’t there and you discover months into your new role that you just haven’t settled. My advice is to remain focused. Be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day. If you’re struggling, try and identify the challenge: is it that you need more support or clarity and how might you ask for that? Is it that you need more time to get to know people? Can you ask more questions and if so, what?  Get to know not just your role but the roles of your colleagues. Learn their tasks and priorities and how that connects to what you are doing. Get to know them on a personal level – what do they do outside of work for example? What are their passions?  Talk but actively listen.

If however it just hasn’t worked out then these things happen. There’s nothing wrong with admitting that a role isn’t right for you. Taking accountability is a signature move of responsible leaders. So move on with dignity and grace and know that at least you’ll have given yourself an opportunity to finetune employment-wise what it is you need. And again, make that transition as easy as possible: reassure the people you manage, write those SOPs, give feedback and capture your learning.

=mc: Finally, what advice would you give to someone embarking on the same journey?

Joss: See what’s out there. If you’re already in a job then that is a big safety net. You don’t have to throw caution to the wind, but if this blog helps you to answer a question then take your time in discovering what the answer might be. Chances are that if you do decide to take on a new challenge, you’ll discover something wonderful about yourself. Equally if you’re already in a fantastic role with a great organisation, keep growing so that if you ever do decide to move on, you’ll take with you and leave a legacy you can be proud of.

If you’d like help getting ready for a new role or are considering your options, we have a number of coaches available to help you work through what’s right for you. Contact us for a free discussion at yvette@managementcentre.co.uk.