The Good Start Process – An Effective Way To On-Board Executives And Managers Into Their New Role And With Their New Team

Situations Where the ‘Good Start’ Process is Helpful:
– A new senior level manager or executive (from either inside or outside) is joining an existing team

– A new team has been formed, and both the manager and staff are new to each other in this configuration

Purpose of the ‘Good Start’ Process:
The goal is to help the manager/executive ‘hit the ground running’; know the climate of the team he/she is joining; understand the key perceptions, issues, and advice that the team wishes to share; and begin the process of building empathy, respect, trust, alignment, and partnership (i.e. ‘ERTAP’).

In sum, this process is a ‘tool’ to help the manager/executive and the team be successful together in their new relationship.

Outline of Key Steps:
1.Conversation is held with the manager/executive; goals of the process are clarified; interview questions for the team are reviewed; and timeframes agreed to

2.Consultant phone interviews are conducted with individual members of the team (typically 30-45 minutes each), using a standard set of questions. Responses are typed for purposes of creating a “Team Climate Report” but no names are recorded (hence the responses are anonymous)

3.The ‘Team Climate Report’, with Executive Summary, Recommendations and Verbatim Comments is reviewed with the manager/executive. This report gives the manager/executive a compete sense of the new team, its perceptions, concerns, questions, advice and hopes. In effect, it allows the manager/executive to join the team with his/her ‘eyes wide open’ and to avoid ‘blind spots’

The Good Start Workshop is held shortly after; is typically 3-4 hours; and can be on-site. While some of the agenda will vary depending on the issues raised by the team in the Report, some sections tend to be standard. The Executive Summary of the Report is shared; the team’s questions are posed to the manager/executive; expectations are exchanged between the team and the manager/executive; ‘ground-rules’ for working together are discussed, agreed-to and documented; and conversation is facilitated about future plans and key initiatives.

Professional Fee:
There are variables that affect the fee (e.g. number of phone interviews, travel time to the workshop location, expenses, etc.). However, $6K is generally the professional fee for Good Start. This includes the pre-session calls and interviewing; creation of the Report; preparation time for the workshop; and delivery of the half-day session.

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL DR. SILVER AT: (585) 330-7853 OR EMAIL DR. SILVER AT [email protected].
154 Commonwealth Road
Rochester, New York 14618
585-330-7853
www.SilverConsultingInc.com