Complain up or sideways (carefully), but never down.

A magical thing happens when we become organizational leaders (e.g. directors, vice presidents and above): we feel the representation of the company is in now our responsibility. And you’d be right: at that level you do represent the organization. 

But for people who have been promoted internally to a leadership role, it's hard to let go of past roles and actions.  No where is this more troublesome for new leaders than past team relationships.

Once you become a leader, the previous associates you had are no longer your First Team (more on this in another blog entry).  The closeness you felt with your them is gone.  You may need to grieve that loss, but make no mistake that the relationship is now different.  Those past teammates will not benefit from you sharing confidences with them anymore, such as sharing your feelings on organizational direction, especially if it’s negative.  

They don’t need you to confide or gossip; they need you to lead and build confidence in the organization as a whole.

I witnessed this first hand at a company where I was COO.  A director was promoted to Vice President because of their success and capabilities.  We were all very happy for them!  

But, things were not all smooth sailing.  The department this person previously managed experienced an almost immediate drop in productivity and morale, as did the new managed groups under their leadership.  

One reason for this came clear when coaching this new VP.  Theyintimated to me that to maintain their previous relationship they continued to attend the weekly happy hour with their previous team (and only their previous team, not everyone in their now-new department).  

Organizational issues would come up  (naturally!) in these settings and while the VP avoided contributing to the gossip, they smiled and laughed along which gave tacit approval of the conversation.  And much of the talk voiced frustration and (some) snarkiness towards others in the organization.

It's one thing to do this when you are “ in the trenches.”  Sometimes having conversations like that can build trust and empathy and understanding with fellow folks.  But one cannot continue to do this when you are responsible for leading the organization and improving or fixing such issues.  If you are privy to organizational criticism, it's your job to turn the conversation into a  constructive dialogue on how to improve the organization as a whole.  That’s why they are paying you the ‘big bucks:”  to make change happen!

And what if you have some constructive criticism to share?  Express it to your leadership peers, as your First Team, in order to fix something or at least develop better alternatives.  

Or, express it up to those above you in a “solution first” way. like“I see this direction we are going, and have a positive suggestion that might make the outcome even better. . . .”  Use your words of course, but be sure to back them up with factual outcomes and anticipated numbers 

So the old adage applies: with great authority comes great responsibility. As a new leader, you are no longer just representing yourself or a team; you are representing your whole organization now.  

Make sure you act accordingly!