In this 17-minute podcast, ideas are shared on how the risk of failure in job transitions continues to be surprisingly high. In particular, there are two primary types of risks: 1) Scope Risk – when the role requires someone to do something new or for the first time and 2) Scale Risk – when the role requires the person to do what he/she has done in a previous role, just at something much, much bigger. For each risk, mitigation strategies are discussed, with the awareness of the risk being the foundational component. One idea I want to add to this “risk” concept is: when someone is transitioning into a new role, identify upfront the risks that a) one is most likely to face given his/her individual situation and b) that if quickly mitigated would disproportionately accelerate a successful transition into the role. In essence, visualize a 2×2 matrix where one axis is “likelihood of risk” and the other is the “impact of risk.” For risks that are highly likely and have a greater impact, mitigation strategies can be incorporated into one’s transition/onboarding plan. Depending on the risk, the strategies selected are likely to be different.
