Preparing to Take Office

Y ou have cleared countless hurdles on the way to your new administrative job — application, interviews, references, negotiation — and now you’re ready to get to work. But the next phase in this long process — the transition — also requires your focused attention.

It is a distinctive period with opportunities both for a smooth entry and for missteps. We have some advice for you on both fronts, based on our experience as a soon-to-be provost and a search consultant.

But before we get into the professional, a quick word on the personal: The transition may well be an emotionally draining time for you personally, especially if your family is facing a major move. Take some time off between jobs for rest and reflection. Here are some points to consider in the months to come.

Sharing the good news. Announcements of your appointment will be made by your home institution and your new institution — ideally at the same time. Think through and discuss the timing with both places. If you’re already a high-level administrator, you may wish to delay the announcement a few weeks, or even months, to minimize the time you spend as a lame duck. Alternatively, you may want to get the news out of the way early so that you can shut down the rumor mill and focus on wrapping up the year effectively. If there is a long lag between early rumors and the final announcement, explain to home colleagues that your candidacy elsewhere isn’t affecting your commitment to them. But be prepared for the possibility that other institutional priorities may shape the announcement process in ways you can’t control.

Your new institution should consult you about the content of its announcement and, assuming you’re leaving your post in good order, you may also be asked to review your home institution’s message. This is a chance for you to preview your tone and the issues that are important to you. What would you like to emphasize — your scholarship, your experience in similar positions, your distinctive life story? Consider asking for expert guidance from the heads of development or communications: This is a chance to get to know them.

You should communicate personally as well, especially to those who will expect to hear the news early and to hear it directly from you. Write individual notes to your closest associates at home, and a general message to others with whom you frequently interact. Before you post your good news on Facebook or Twitter, check with both old and new employers. You shouldn’t beat them to the punch, and you especially shouldn’t reveal your appointment until all other finalists have been officially notified.

As you prepare to clear out of your old office, review your electronic communications: What will happen when you lose your current email address? Which files and contacts do you need to take with you, and which would it be wrong to take?

If you are aware of internal candidates who competed for your new position, think about what kind of relationship you want to have with them. This is a delicate matter. You may be tempted to see the internal former competitor as a continuing threat who should leave. Alternatively (especially if you are coming from outside) you may see him or her as a resource and want at least to explore the potential for robust partnership. Internal candidates will usually look to you to take the lead in defining this relationship. Since they are likely to have high visibility in your new institution, be aware that your treatment of them will be scrutinized.

The staff members and/or administrators who now report to you may be worried about their futures. Acknowledge their concerns. If you think highly of them and believe they will make a good fit with your successor, say so. And let your successor know their strengths and weaknesses, with an eye especially toward protecting the strong performers. If there are some weak links, consider taking action to move them out before your successor arrives.

Ask people at your new institution what end-of-year meetings or ceremonies — such as commencement or budget hearings — you should sit in on, as a participant or simply as a guest. Settle on a schedule of check-ins with your new boss: If you are starting work on August 1, for instance, you may want to arrange brief phone dates every two weeks through July.

Making the handoffs. Amid all the going-away parties, make sure to reserve time for a formal handoff of the work. Reach out to your successor to share the inner workings of the office, the job, and the institution, recalling the most challenging aspects of your own transition into that job. Offer examples of your correspondence, especially emails that tackle complicated situations or deliver bad news — like refusing a request for a raise, rejecting a budget increase, or delivering a negative performance review. Integrate as much information as possible into a few comprehensive messages or use a shared drive.

Your successor may well approach the job differently. But take time to go over your schedule and calendar together to illuminate what’s in store. Introduce your successor to your assistant, administrators, and/or staff members, as well as to key external partners. Discuss plans for staffing continuity or changes, and offer your recommendations.

Have the same handoff conversation with the person you are replacing. Ideally, your predecessor will be helpful through the course of your transition. But he or she may be resentful at your selection, or just eager to get out of Dodge. Figure out which is the case. Read between the lines for areas of your predecessor’s poor performance — e.g., didn’t attend to shared governance, couldn’t make hard decisions — and consider whether those might be areas needing your prompt attention.

Bear in mind: People may have axes to grind against your predecessor, making it difficult to distinguish between fair and unfair criticism. Remember that some people, but not everyone, will be delighted that you are taking a new approach.

If you were an internal candidate, and especially if you held the interim position, you might smoothly slide into the permanent title. But it’s also possible that you will view your job differently now that it is permanent. For example, hard decisions that couldn’t be made by an interim will now await you in your redefined role. Be careful that you don’t become a different person — unless you were clear during the search that your colleagues should prepare for a “new you.”

Developing relationships. Stay in touch with key people at your new institution. Things may have changed since the selection process concluded, so inquire into emerging issues. Ask to be updated on the conclusion of some spring-semester processes, like budget planning for the coming academic year. Find out how difficult issues were resolved, or any major changes or problems in store. Learn who has the final authority to make each decision. Don’t usurp authority that isn’t yet yours, but be alert to decisions being made by your predecessor that could undermine directions that you want to take.

Consider how you want to shape your first contact with your new colleagues — both in writing and face to face. Get advice from your new boss, your predecessor, or search-committee members. Consider asking to have an email sent on your behalf to the largest appropriate group (say, all the faculty if you are the new dean) that announces your new email address, the date it will be activated, the date you will arrive on the campus, and when you’re likely to be available to talk with colleagues. Needless to say, your note should include expressions of appreciation for the search committee and enthusiasm for your new post.

This is a good moment to meet or speak informally with the people who will report to you — getting to know them early will help smooth your arrival. Reach out to all of them at the same time, since they will notice if you don’t. You want to avoid creating the impression that some of them are more important to you than others. Frankly, everyone is likely aware that you are making initial judgments about who can stay, who should go, and whether you want some or all of them to pursue a different direction in their work.

In addition to internal people, communicate promptly with people outside the institution who are important to your position — donors, members of advisory boards, school superintendents, community leaders, and so on.

If you were an internal candidate, and if you held the position as an interim, you have a different set of issues to consider. Begin by considering what baggage you might bring. Which groups or individuals will be least enthusiastic about your appointment? Their opposition will likely resurface the first time you make a mistake on the job. So at this early moment, consider how you might neutralize the opposition, or even turn your detractors into supporters.

Building a transition team. Discuss with your new boss the possibility of forming a transition team — faculty, administrators, staff, students, or community members who can assist you and answer your questions through your first semester. One place to start is the search committee, which probably includes experienced faculty and administrators who have the administration’s trust, but who are senior enough to speak their own minds.

Announce the team on your new campus. Some may view any transition group with suspicion, so be prepared to explain its formation and to convey that it is not a policy group that will interfere with established processes of governance.

The new year begins. In the coming months, you may well feel like you are living on a relentlessly accelerating conveyor belt. Consider your priorities. What were the goals — ideally, not more than about five — that you articulated as a candidate or were asked to pursue? Review your calendar at the end of each week and ask yourself which events did or did not contribute to achieving those goals.

Certainly developing a broad and deep understanding of the institution is a foundational goal that will make all other things possible. But once the familiarization process is well under way, bring your focus back to the goals. You can’t do everything well all at once, so pick your battles. Work closely with anyone helping you with scheduling and make sure that person understands your priorities.

You have a long way to go. But follow this advice, and by the end of your first semester, you should be able to check off the box on your to-do list that says, “Complete a smooth transition.”