Leading Your Service Team Through A Merger Or Acquisition
By Israel Lang, Executive Consultant, HTG Peer Groups
I can remember the day I had to go into my team’s normal meeting room and deliver the news that we had been acquired. I had a prepared statement that we division leaders had prepared with the acquiring company which made the first seven minutes easy to get through.
It was the next 53 minutes of meeting time that was stressful. I knew there would be questions, fear, anxieties, and more questions. I knew there were some things I could answer and assuage. I also knew that with many things still in flux, there would be some uncertainties remaining.
However, that hour was just the beginning of the journey. The real work happened over the next year with the countless meetings, both internally and externally, the merging of cultures, the merging of leadership, and the changing of policies and procedures.
I learned a lot during our acquisition and the months following. I was thankful for the gift of peers in my peer group who were in the midst of or who had gone through a similar scenario as I leaned on them for support and advice.
Here are eight things to consider as you lead your service team through a merger or acquisition, whether being acquired or acquiring. Throughout the months of September and October, I will expand on each of these considerations at the Expedition: Leadership blog.
- Don’t pretend or communicate that nothing will change.
- Determine and understand the rationale behind the merger or acquisition.
- Clarify the expectations are for you as the service leader.
- Regardless of the why and what, work as a team with all the senior managers to intentionally communicate a clear message both internally and externally.
- Evaluate your team (both existing and new members).
- Evaluate your processes, systems and tools.
- Stay close to the numbers.
- Be realistic.
I wish I could say that my peers and I did all of these things well. The reality is we all learned a lot as we navigated the changes that went on in our respective organizations.
Hopefully, you can take some of these lessons and apply them as you lead your team through this time of change. It can be exciting and a net positive one if you have the proper perspective, expectations, and lead well.
Members of HTG Peer Groups have the opportunity to attend content days each quarter as part of their membership such as the M&A Workshop in August in Denver where they heard from Israel Lang on the topic of the Cultural Considerations in doing an M&A. Learn more about HTG content days when you find out about becoming a member of HTG Peer Groups.
Israel Lang is part of a team of coaches and consultants serving the IT industry. Prior to joining the HTG Peer Groups staff, he spent almost 20 years in various roles in service and operations at a solutions and managed service provider. His company was a member of HTG for many years, and he is a strong proponent of the peer group experience. He loves helping companies go further faster through developing executives, managers, and teams into effective leaders who reach their fullest potentials. You can reach him at ilang@htgpeergroups.com or on Twitter @israellang.