Manuel Rivera's stunning and embarrassing decision to withdraw his appointment as Boston's next school superintendent underscores a growing and little understood problem with senior hirings. Call it "the gap." There was an unacceptably long 10-month period between his selection and planned starting date. Furthermore, his selection was announced before his contract was even negotiated. Yes, it's a political process, but shouldn't standards of excellence apply to public selections, too?
Given the cauldron that is Boston politics, 10 months is too large a gap. There is too much time for "buyer's remorse" to set in and, with it, too great an opportunity for executives to reconsider. As Donald Rumsfeld infamously reminded us, "Stuff happens!" And it certainly did in this case.
This gap between an appointment and the first day on the job also finds newly named CEOs and college presidents saying and doing things, often unaware of their new organization's history and culture, that come back to haunt them. Most executives would likely say their new job starts when they arrive. Wrong! Their job actually starts when their appointment is announced. That's when employees start the Google searches on their new boss fueled by gossip and media accounts.
Internal and external audiences start forming their opinions of the new leader at that moment; they don't wait for the boss to find their new desk. During the "neither here nor there" void of finishing one job and starting another, leaders make cameo appearances at the new institution, engage in e-mail conversations, fall prey to the political agendas of employees at the new place, and start answering questions about vision, values and strategy. Whether they like it or not, these new bosses are creating their image, taking sides and making back-door decisions many months before they start their new job.
Having said this, however, awareness of these "gap" issues is painfully limited. Newly appointed leaders no longer have the luxury of waiting to start their new job. That job commences immediately and these CEOs and college presidents sorely need a plan to help them navigate such rocky shoals. That plan should start with a commitment to closing the gap between selection and the start of their new job.
Given the cauldron that is Boston politics, 10 months is too large a gap. There is too much time for "buyer's remorse" to set in and, with it, too great an opportunity for executives to reconsider. As Donald Rumsfeld infamously reminded us, "Stuff happens!" And it certainly did in this case.
This gap between an appointment and the first day on the job also finds newly named CEOs and college presidents saying and doing things, often unaware of their new organization's history and culture, that come back to haunt them. Most executives would likely say their new job starts when they arrive. Wrong! Their job actually starts when their appointment is announced. That's when employees start the Google searches on their new boss fueled by gossip and media accounts.
Internal and external audiences start forming their opinions of the new leader at that moment; they don't wait for the boss to find their new desk. During the "neither here nor there" void of finishing one job and starting another, leaders make cameo appearances at the new institution, engage in e-mail conversations, fall prey to the political agendas of employees at the new place, and start answering questions about vision, values and strategy. Whether they like it or not, these new bosses are creating their image, taking sides and making back-door decisions many months before they start their new job.
Having said this, however, awareness of these "gap" issues is painfully limited. Newly appointed leaders no longer have the luxury of waiting to start their new job. That job commences immediately and these CEOs and college presidents sorely need a plan to help them navigate such rocky shoals. That plan should start with a commitment to closing the gap between selection and the start of their new job.