KEY POINTS:
At this time of year, many executives take on new responsibilities, starting new jobs higher up the ladder - or at the very top. Tim Miles, for example, starts his new position as managing director of PGG Wrightson this month.
Miles, an experienced CEO, ex-Vodafone UK and Vodafone NZ, is unlikely to have any problems picking up the reins, but for those new to the lofty heights of management, it can be a real culture shock.
"It's a whole set of different requirements. You have got to change with the job," says Ian MacRae, managing director of Hay Group, the human resource management consultancy. "You are the boss, and people treat and respect you as such. They are not going to adopt you and treat you as a best friend. You have moved into a different peer group and that's where you have to start mixing."
There are associations and business groups to help. An external coach is frequently used by top management.
Simon Monks, partner of headhunters and talent management consultants Heidrick & Struggles, keeps a close eye on how his new CEOs bed down in the first few months.
If it's the person's first CEO job, or if the incoming executive is moving across industries, he may create a small advisory board to do a certain amount of handholding. "Christ had 12 apostles, CEOs need about three or four," quips Monks.
The handholders tend to be be senior businesspeople, perhaps recently retired.
Monks also recommends joining networking groups like the Hugo Group, which offer a good venue for discussion.
"For CEOs sitting among peers, they realise that they are not on their own," says Monks.
The consultant says the John Wayne type of CEO - 6ft 10 and never admitting any weakness - does not exist any more.
"There is a much greater acknowledgment now that the CEO is more of a conductor or a coach," he says. Promotion to the top may involve managing people who were also going for the job.
"The roles do not stay the same, you've got to provide some incentive," he says. You might invite a colleague to take a chief operating officer role, for example. And with CEOs only staying in their position for an average of 3.5 years, the chances are that that person might have another stab at it in a few years' time.
Former CEO Professor Lester Levy - now head of Excelerator: The NZ Leadership Institute - says a new CEO's natural source of relationships is the board. "You are all on the same side," he says.
Levy, formerly chief executive of the New Zealand Blood Service, says if you don't have anyone giving you feedback, it can be a dangerous as well as lonely position.
He advises against interacting just with an external coach. "You really need to talk to people who do the work - they are the people you need to relate to," he says. "One of the interesting things is that you find an incredible amount of people try to be nice to you. It is important to remember they are trying to be nice to the position, not to you."
It is up to the CEO to create an environment where people are supported, "where diverse opinions are not only tolerated but obligatory".
Coaching Associates director Linley Rose thinks the biggest adjustment for transition in business is from middle to senior management. A new manager has to realise that there are things that you can't do any more. You can't discuss company politics, for instance. It's about being appropriate, says Rose.
Sometimes you step on a few toes to get to the top. You may have your skeptics and your supporters, says Gill Hopkins, director of the leadership and capability consulting programme at Hay Group. When it comes to redefining these relationships, make sure that you are "not seen to have an inner or outer circle".
"Today, Generation Y and X are in the game of wanting to be consulted. They don't think age has anything to do with it. They think they are as good as the next person," says David Chapman, chief executive of the NZ Institute of Management.
"Part of the skills of a manager is to listen to their ideas."
* Gill South is a freelance business writer based in Auckland.
View from top
Tips for new CEOs:
* Remember, your peer group has changed.
* Get support or coaching if necessary.
* Find ways to manage colleagues who also wanted the top job.
* Beware of becoming isolated from the people who do the work.
* Don't take yourself too seriously; remember that people are nice to you because of the position you're in.
* There are some things you can no longer discuss with staff.
