The Myth of New Leader "Fit"

We often hear clients talk about how they want Newly-placed Leaders to "fit" their organizational culture. And if New Leaders derail, it is often attributed to a "poor fit." Rather than have "fit" be a throwaway explanation for derailment, doesn't it make sense for us to have a better understanding of what is happening and why?

This is an important conversation to facilitate for a variety of reasons:

1. "Fit" could mean "be just like us." And for most companies who want to perform better, that could be a mistake. Too many similar people = too many people who think the same way. Too many people who think the same way = under-representation of new ideas or a failure to challenge existing ideas. It also implies something unpleasant for those of us who are somehow different -- that as people with different work styles, genders, sexual orientations, experience bases, ethnicity or skin color, our contributions could be marginalized or completely ignored.

2. Perhaps "fit" is more about New Leaders behaving in ways that are acceptable to their new peers and colleagues. If the Leaders respect their colleagues and their ways of doing things, perhaps they will be allowed to be more accepted by others, voice opinions sooner, or be more influential. That suggests a more dynamic, situational way of thinking about leader transition.

3. Or, you could adopt our perspective (in addition to #2 above) and believe that it's also the job of the organization to engineer the "fit" of the Newly-placed Leader. If you accept the notion that companies do a pretty good job of hiring people with the "potential to fit," why wouldn't employers want to seal the deal by ensuring their new hires are truly set up for success?

If we can make the failure to fit be seen as what we really believe it to be -- a failure to cause the fit of the New Leader, wouldn't everyone win? Companies retain valued leaders. New Leaders not only keep their jobs, but also ramp up faster and less painfully. Employees have more effective bosses. And HR people get to attend to what they most want to do: develop and retain talent to cause the organization to be more successful.