The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build Your Team, and Get Immediate Results, 3rd Edition

APPENDIX VI

Leading When You Were Promoted from Within or Internally Transferred

The basics of (1) get a head start, (2) manage your message, and (3) build your team, apply in every case. What's different is what you need to get a head start on and the restrictions around that, the nature of your message and the context for that message, and the conditions and context of your team building.

Promoted from Within or Lateral Transfer

Consider the successful handoff in a running relay race. The new runner, who's already on the track, does three things: (1) prepares and starts moving in advance; (2) takes control of the transition by putting his hand where he wants the baton placed; and (3) accelerates decisively following the handoff. Those promoted from within or making a lateral transfer should follow the same model.

The basics of new leadership apply whether it's in a new company or the same company. The fundamental difference between moving to a new company and making an internal move, however, is that, like a relay runner preparing to receive the baton, you are already on the track. Unlike joining an organization for the first time, when you have to create a new positioning for yourself, when you're making an internal move, people already know you or know people that know you. Thus, to a large degree, this is an exercise in repositioning yourself within the organization.

When you make an internal move, keep in mind that:

You can't control the context.

Although you may not be ...