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

Confront the Dilemma Openly and Constructively with the Team

Although you may not want to hear it, while managing the team through a transition of leadership, it is important to allow people the freedom of expression—to talk openly about the change and how it is affecting them. When you have a tough act to follow, part of the process will be listening to potentially heroic tales about your predecessor.

Allowing people to have an open and candid conversation with you will prevent the conversation from going underground. It helps team members move on. It is inevitable that the team will compare you with the previous boss. By helping them do this, you are in a great position to gain their acceptance and support. The team will have strong feelings about their former boss and the changes they are experiencing. They will want to talk about it, so you have a choice. You can either ignore their need to talk about things and hope it goes away, or you can bring it out in the open by letting them talk openly and frankly. Your team will have the conversation anyway. By listening to them, you can gain insight into how your new team thinks and feels. Rather than letting them talk around the water-cooler or in the bar after work, engage with them and facilitate the discussions.

Your attitude should be one of respectful enquiry. Find out what they valued about their former boss. Ask them what you could learn from your predecessor’s style and approach. A little humility can go a long way. ...