Got a new boss after yet another re-org? You may have more control over the situation than you think. In her April 10 “It’s Race Day” video, Bobbie LaPorte shares the true story of one of her clients who used his personal agency during a time of transition to better position himself and his team to have more impact in their organization. You can do it, too! Watch now:
New Boss, New Possibilities: How to Make the Most of Reporting Change
Hi everyone, Bobbie LaPorte here again with my weekly leadership tip for 2023 called “It’s Race Day,” where I help you close the gap between thinking and doing. There’s a time to train and a time to race.
As we continue to see layoffs and reorgs, one of the more common “curveballs” to come along with all these is that you often end up reporting to someone new. Sometimes that’s a positive thing; maybe your new boss is someone you’ve admired and a talented leader who actively supports his team. In other cases, it could be a much less desirable change, a situation that could be seen as a step backward for you—possibly even a career derailer.
This was the exact situation recently with one of my clients. Like many of his peers port-reorg, he was told he had a new boss. This was not the first time (and likely won’t be the last).
Most leaders would just accept this news, resigned to a new reporting structure, almost numb to just one more change. They would probably also be happy just to have a job and think they would invest the minimum time getting to know their new boss (because, hey – there was probably another change just around the corner) instead keeping a low profile, staying under the radar.
But that’s not the approach my client took. He opted to use this as an opportunity to think about what the optimum reporting structure could be, to see if there were other possibilities that could increase the visibility and impact he and his team could have; basically, to take what others might consider a risk, and suggest an alternative to what he was presented with.
He was of the mind that he did have a choice in this matter, that he did actually have options—and he used his personal agency to influence where he and his team could land.
When I meet with leaders in this situation, I encourage them to ask these questions:
- Who else in the organization does your team support?
- Where does your work intersect with other functions?
- How could this change increase your value contribution to the organization?
Asking yourself these questions while things are in flux could mean the difference between just another stop on the reporting structure carousel and a path forward that creates real possibilities for you and your team.
And for my client? His team landed in a much more impactful, visible and highly resourced organization, with a leader who also viewed this change as an opportunity to increase his value and impact in the organization.
I hope your week is one of doing, of taking action. Remember: there is a time to train and a time to race. It’s Race Day.