Political Dilemmas at Work: How to Maintain Your Integrity and Further Your Career

Chapter Six

TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW

Thrilled at your new appointment, you are dismayed to discover that everybody keeps telling you how great your predecessor was, and they seem unable to accept you.

 

 

 

 

When we get promoted, we are usually replacing someone else. Although we now have the chance to make our mark and do things our way, we nevertheless get to inherit a legacy from our predecessor, and we inherit both the good and the bad. A part of that inheritance is the team. Inevitably people will compare us to our predecessor. If the previous results were poor or our predecessor was unpopular, it might help make our transition easy.

But what happens if the job was done effectively, inspirationally—and perhaps even brilliantly—by our predecessor? What do we do when the team seems unable or unwilling to move on and accept us? Then it becomes a tough act to follow.

The Tough Act to Follow Dilemma

I’ve been determined to make a big impact since the day I got the job. I have a clear vision and a big change agenda, and I want to be a great leader, but my team is still going on about how good Martin was. At first, I brushed it aside as just my own insecurities talking, but I’ve been in the job now for three months, and I’m starting to get nervous. It appears as though the guy was like a father to them, and they don’t seem to accept me.

I noticed in the first Wednesday meeting that there were several times when Martin was mentioned—in quite reverential tones—but I bided my time, ...