Michael K. Burroughs

Before Onboarding: How to Integrate New Leaders for Quick and Sustained Results Michael K. Burroughs

Recent studies show that attrition rates for outside hired executives are high. Some say between 30 and 50%, and many of these failures will occur within the first two years. The statistics are not much better for internally promoted leaders. The first 90 days of a new leader's tenure will often determine ultimate success or failure. Onboarding programs are prolific and helpful, but they are not designed to prepare new leaders to secure early successes while avoiding costly mistakes. Something else has to be done to reduce this alarming attrition rate. The author is a veteran executive recruiter and coach. He is Executive Vice President of Executive Integration Services for one of the world's top ranked executive search firms. He has placed leaders from director to public company CEO in the US, Asia and Europe. While an organization development executive in the Fortune 500, he developed and refined a New Leader Integration "pre-boarding" process that significantly compresses the time it takes for new leaders to be fully effective. An internal or external change management consultant oversees this process. The new leader arrives on the first day with a "blueprint for success" in hand and has been thoroughly briefed regarding the expectations of the boss, peers and direct reports. The outcome is a new leader who gets the right results quickly and sustains them over the long term. This book clearly defines a process for implementing a New leader Integration program in a variety of organizations. It is a process that is appropriate for leaders at all levels.