Common Hurts During a Stretch

Common “Hurts” During a Stretch

On the plus side, stretch assignments are exciting. When you’re working internationally, leading an integration or acquisition team, heading up a business unit, turning a company around, or managing a large number of people for the first time, you’re going to be turned on by the challenge. It’s a big assignment in a refreshingly new environment, and your success can mean a lot to your company and your career.

As exciting as these jobs are, the initial adrenaline rush subsides and you’re left wondering whether you really can handle your new responsibilities. When you start making mistakes, realizing that you don’t “get it” it hurts. The hurt comes in different forms, and if you are aware of what these forms are, you’ll be better able to learn from them. When you realize that your response to this passage isn’t unique to you—that hurting in different ways in a stretch assignment is normal and useful—then you are in a better position to tolerate it and learn critical new skills, knowledge, and values. Here are the three ways most people hurt during a stretch:

1. Feeling like a victim. “Why are they doing this to me?” is a common refrain when people suspect they’re not qualified for the assignment they’ve been given. They’re right, of course, but that’s the whole point. You may be angry that your leadership didn’t know you were going to have trouble with this job. As you’re struggling to make informed decisions in areas where you don’t have enough knowledge to make them, you may feel like the company should have prepared you better. The assignment may even feel like punishment. Some people beat up on themselves, furious at their perceived inadequacies.

   Keep in mind that “they’re doing this to me” may be true because corporate life is a test; if you complete the test successfully, you are more developed and thus able to handle more responsibility. The intent behind the assignment may be to obtain business results, as well as to develop you as a leader. They didn’t give this assignment to someone else for a reason, whether or not that reason is apparent. You’re the one who has been tabbed as an individual worth developing, and that’s why you’re the one struggling with the assignment. This may be cold comfort, but it should provide self-motivation to get through it by learning as much as possible.

2. Perceiving skepticism or hostility from others. Plum stretch assignments are coveted, and those who don’t get them may react badly. These reactions run the gamut from coolness toward the “stretchee” who was chosen to outright hostility. Others who weren’t candidates for the job may also react negatively, feeling the stretch job should have been given to someone in their function or with a specific type of background. Whatever the situation, be prepared to encounter some unpleasant reactions from the new group of people with whom you’ll be working. Other coworkers may also resent your appointment as head of an overseas business if you’re not from that country or have no experience working there. Typically, this resentment lasts until you’ve demonstrated that you have something to contribute.

   Overcoming the skepticism and hostility of coworkers is a great learning experience. Every leader encounters a dubious audience at different points in his career, and learning how to work effectively despite this reaction is a good skill to possess. In this passage, leaders learn to be patient with both themselves and others and allow their performance to speak for itself. Rather than being confrontational or discouraged by a less-than-warm reception, leaders discover that they can win most people over simply by doing a good job.

3. Realizing you don’t know what you need to know. This really hurts. It’s a shock to discover that you’re unqualified in some way for a task or position you’ve been given. Imagine what happens when you move from a functional job to a GM position—a common stretch assignment. For the first time, you need to see the big picture, to break away from your functional perspective, to understand and appreciate all functions. If you’re a marketing group head, you may realize you don’t know enough about finance to do your job. Or you may be trying to solve a business problem and realize you’ve never had to think about all aspects of the business at once, and that’s the only way to solve the problem.

   The worst way to respond to not knowing is by pretending you do know. When people take on stretch positions, they sometimes respond with rigidity. Rather than try to increase their flexibility by expanding their capacity, they fall back on their old way of doing things. In a true stretch assignment, relying on old approaches rarely works. But even if it did, it would defeat the learning goal of this passage. When you admit you don’t know, you take the first step toward increasing your capacity to adapt. You listen more intently, ask more questions, and test new behaviors and theories. Eventually, you find a new way to be effective. This adaptability serves leaders well, not just in this passage but in all subsequent passages in their career and life.