Stepping into the shoes of a leader who has left a negative impact can be daunting. Yet, it's an opportunity to turn things around. Let's explore the strategies effective leaders employ to transform such challenging transitions into a springboard for success.
Three strategies to help your company move past poor leadership
Acknowledge the legacy of the previous leader
- When your predecessor was successful, you will not be judged against their accomplishments
- But when replacing a poor or controversial leader, you may have to take accountability for your predecessor’s mistakes while simultaneously creating a new vision for the organization
Seek to understand your employees’ experiences
Listen to people who felt the adverse effects of the previous leader and use that information to inform your vision
- Explicitly ask individuals or groups within the company how can I help you now? What do you most want and need going forward?
- Humans are built to move on and once they feel truly understood they often move on of their own accord
Acknowledge the contributions of the previous leader
Good leaders create a separation between the past and the future
- They acknowledge the past realities, including the likelihood that any leader, no matter how poor, did something right
- New leaders should acknowledge any positives that a predecessor brought while also openly discussing the trauma and damage they created
Enable a vision for the future by creating a space for forgiveness
Most bad leaders’ actions are, in some part, rooted in good intentions
- Acknowledging the gap between the previous leader’s intentions and results can be as simple as saying “I understand the previous executives had big dreams for this company, but their methods (or approach, or style) didn’t work.”
- Forgiveness often has the opposite effect and creates room for new possibilities
- Circumstances change, requiring leaders to evolve and adapt
