Transition Acceleration Process

the center for leadership & organizational change

Transition Acceleration Process Setting the path for success

Onboarding: process through which new employees acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and behaviors to become effective in their specific role and as organizational members.

Accelerated Orientation and Onboarding At the University of Maryland, new leaders come with high levels of expertise in their fields, but face the challenge of solving problems and taking strategic advantage of opportunities in new environments.

How can these new team leaders, managers, chairs, directors, deans or vice presidents rapidly analyze their new organization’s culture, determine what resources and people are required for success, and create an approach that works?

The Transition Acceleration Process (TAP), offered by the university’s Center for Leadership & Organizational Change (CLOC), is designed to ease this shift and set a path for the unit’s success.

Setting the Path overview Through interviews with a hand-selected group, CLOC consultants pinpoint key concerns and expectations identified by colleagues as critical to success. We then share this information in a facilitated meeting with the new leader and the interview participants.

Benefits

Organization / Colleagues • Decreases cost of lengthy learning curve by accelerating the onboarding process • Builds a relationship between the new leader and his or her colleagues • Expands mutual understanding of challenges and opportunities facing the unit

New Leaders • Enhances clarity of roles and expectations of the new position • Elicits insider advice • Identifies ideas for short- and long-term action plans • Creates an understanding of chronic tensions and how to manage them

Questions

Outcomes

Process

• Increases the new leader’s support from colleagues • Invests colleagues in the new leader’s success • Creates shared expectations

Initial Steps

Interviews

• CLOC meets with hiring authority to identify the six to eight key colleagues to be included • Interview questions are customized • Hiring authority introduces TAP to the new leader and invites colleagues to participate

• CLOC interviews new leader and colleagues

• CLOC debriefs new leader to prepare for the TAP feedback meeting

TAP Feedback Meeting • CLOC facilitates two-hour meeting with the new leader and colleagues

Sample Interview Questions: • How would you describe the leader’s job?

• What do you think he or she should pay attention to sooner rather than later?

• If after six months on the job the leader has been wildly successful, what will have been accomplished?

• What do you think the new leader should avoid doing at all costs?

CLOC, part of the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, provides customized consulting and leadership coaching. We enable departments, groups and leaders to achieve their goals by partnering with our clients to deliver tailored solutions.

Get in touch to discuss hiring our team to bring TAP into your organization.

The Center for Leadership & Organizational Change www.cloc.umd.edu 1125 Cole Field House College Park, MD 20742 301.405.7584