Stepping Into Your Role
Use this rough 3 stage guide to help you step into a new role. It can be especially useful for more complex roles. Note there will be overlaps between the stages.
Stage 1: Orient (2-4 weeks approx.)
To start with, get to grips with what's needed from the role. In this stage, you'll likely lean heavily on others to help you get oriented to the role. Talk to people around the organisation, and in particular be sure to explore how the role's Circle Lead understands it. You'll want to gather clear answers to questions like:
The why:
What need does the role exist to fill i.e. what is the role's Purpose? How does the Circle Lead interpret the role's Purpose?
The who:
Who was influential in creating this role? What are their thoughts on why the role is important, what it needs to achieve and how it should go about things?
What other roles does this role depend on to do its work? What roles are dependent on this role?
The what:
What ongoing work is expected of this role i.e. what are its Accountabilities? How does the Circle Lead interpret the role's Accountabilities?
What actions/projects do other roles expect of this role? When are they expected to be completed? In your interpretation, does it serve the role's Purpose or Accountabilities to carry out these actions/projects?
The how:
How was the role being energised previously? How was it interacting with other roles and people, both within and outside the organisation?
What ideas do others have about how this role should do things going forward?
What money does this role have permission to spend?
What skills and knowledge do you need to achieve wild success in this role? Where can you get the skills and knowledge you don't already have?
Stage 2: Explore (2-6 months approx.)
Often, in the Explore stage, you'll spend a lot of time reading, doing courses, watching videos, listening to podcasts, and having meandering conversations. It might feel like you "aren't contributing". This is normal and okay. Everyone needs time to learn their way into a new role.
Some useful things to do in this stage are:
Develop a list of skills and knowledge you want to obtain
Develop a list of resources to investigate, as well as the people who can give you advice, knowledge and skills. Get tips on which resources and people you should prioritise exploring.
Absorb new knowledge by exploring resources and speaking to people
Spend time in spaces where you can think creatively and play with ideas
Stage 3: Fly
In this stage, you take the foundational understanding and skill that you've built, and use it to start making the role your own. In this stage, you'll want to:
Process Purpose & Accountabilities: Looking at your role's Purpose & Accountabilities, make a list of all the possible Projects and Next Actions that might be useful to work towards. If time was no barrier, what are all the opportunities you could pursue and problems you could address?
Prioritise: Check the official priorities and strategies of your Circle, any super-Circles, and the wider organisation, as you'll need to align with all of these. With these in mind, what are your top priority Projects and Next Actions?
Execute: Now you've got your priorities figured out, crack on with your Next Actions! If there are no policies, domains or Constitutional rules in the way, you're free to make any decision or take any action that serves your role's Purpose & Accountabilities. Of course, before you make significant decisions, it's generally worth getting input from experts and people who will be impacted.
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