I was a member of the search team that recommended Vern as the new leader. I loved how he responded to questions in the interviews; it wasn’t rehearsed, it was genuine. I could tell he was confident in who he was, but he was not arrogant or proud. Those qualities would serve him well as the leadership transition would be challenging. About seven months into his tenure, I asked what helped him make the transition so smoothly. With a little smile on his face he said, “I was careful to learn what was under the rocks before I picked them up.” As I watched him as a leader, I learned this may have been his greatest gift.

You see, each rock represents a new problem or issue and what is “under each rock” is the information everyone else has about it, but you don’t because you are the new leader. While you are getting to know the organization, you’ll find rocks everywhere and most will need to be picked up or turned over at some point in time. The question for you is when to turn them over and how you prepare for each rock, because all rocks are not the same. I’ve watched new leaders at all levels of the organization handle this differently, some with great success. But I’ve also watched a greater number struggle and most often it was for one simple reason, their ego got in the way.

I think the challenge with ego begins with the hiring process. New leaders typically go through a lengthy process where they will answer question after question, share stories of their past successes, and offer opinions on what they would do. Once chosen, it’s hard not to feel good about yourself because you wowed them. And you should be proud of all that you’ve accomplished in preparing you for this role. But remember, as good as you are, you still don’t know what you don’t know. Let me give you a few examples.

When you turn over a rock and see a problem, you might say to yourself, “I’ve seen this before” and quickly jump into action because you know what to do. Only later do you learn that what looked like something you’ve seen before is similar, but it is different. Your answer doesn’t fix the problem and makes it worse. Ego.

You turn over another rock and think to yourself, “this isn’t complicated” and “I can’t believe this problem has been around for as long as it has.” You feel confident, so you make the decision that “needed to be made.” Only a little later you learn that it hadn’t been resolved before not because it was hard, but because it was a political nightmare with the board. Your predecessor knew that and chose to leave it alone because they determined it wasn’t critical to the operation, and it was better to be left alone. You’ve now alienated some board members. Ego.

Or before turning over a rock, you ask a few questions and the responses make you feel like, “I’ve got it”, no need to ask more questions. Decision made. Soon thereafter you learn you needed to ask more questions and better questions because you’ve only learned half of what you needed to learn to make the right decision. Ego.

When you are new, remember you weren’t hired for what you do it ninety days, they hired you for long term success. So, push your ego down, be humble in seeking the thoughts of others. Get good at asking questions differently, not just to get information. Here are a few I like to use.

 If you were in my shoes and needed to make this decision, what would you do and why?

• What have I not asked that I should have asked?
• Does this need to be dealt with now and if so, why?
• Has there been any similar problems in the past and if so, how were they handled?

Learn what’s under the rock, before you need to turn it over.

Never let yourself think that you are wiser than you are Proverbs 3:7a (GNT)