Whomever replaces Anna Wintour in running day-to-day operations at American Vogue will have some enormous stilettos to fill.
That’s partly because Wintour, who’s 75, has been at the job for nearly four decades and is a legend in the business. It’s also because whoever comes next will report to her.
Wintour, who became Vogue’s editor in chief in 1988, is giving up that role. However, she’ll remain global editorial director at the magazine and chief content officer for its parent company, Condé Nast, the company said Thursday.
Taking on a senior role, similar to the one Wintour vacated at Vogue, is often challenging, especially when the predecessor remains on hand, leadership experts told Business Insider.
Incoming leaders are wise to signal that they want to make changes without abandoning what makes an organization work, said Kevin Groves, a professor of management at Pepperdine’s Graziadio Business School.
“We’re preserving what’s most important to us, while recognizing our environment has changed,” he said.
Here are three pieces of advice on taking over after a leader who looms large — and who might still be down the hall.
Don’t be impatient
Stepping into this position successfully starts with indicating sincere interest in the role and prioritizing what’s best for the organization, Nancy Ho, an executive coach based in Singapore, told BI.
“You cannot be impatient and rush into it. It should not be seen like you’re power-hungry or claiming a role prematurely,” Ho said.
Instead, she said, new leaders need to focus on understanding a company’s culture and how they can position themselves as an asset to the organization.
James Reed, CEO of the UK-based recruitment company Reed, said there is no harm in declaring to your boss that you are ambitious and aim to lead an organization, “even if you avoid explicitly saying you’re after their job.”
“Ask what you need to learn and what more you can contribute to support them,” Reed said. “Then they will be aware of your ambition but appreciate that you are seeking to help and learn from them rather than undermine them.”
Don’t rock the boat too early
Ho said it’s important not to make drastic changes too soon upon getting the job. Ho recommended that the first step is acknowledging the good work done before them. Then, they should gain the team’s trust by carefully working with them and making small, gradual changes to improve the organization’s effectiveness.
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“When there’s a certain buy-in, and people are more comfortable with a different leader, then you introduce changes,” she said.
Sabina Nawaz, a US-based CEO coach, said new leaders should not make changes for at least the first three months because the first thing to do after receiving the title is “to be curious.”
“Go on a listening tour, excavate the reasons behind decisions or actions, try to make sense of things from the perspective of others: given that they’re smart and well-meaning, what did they have in mind when they acted this way,” Nawaz said.
Christian Tröster, a professor of leadership and organizational behavior at Germany’s Kühne Logistics University, told BI that new leaders can demonstrate they’re becoming part of the organization by being careful not to suggest that everything should change.
“Because then you’re showing that you are not like them, that you cannot be trusted,” Tröster said. “Then you don’t have the commitment of your employees to actually go with you.”
Tröster said that when an incoming leader would have to report to the person who held the post in the past, it’s important to have a conversation about expectations.
He said that while org charts are often clear, layers are often not always evident, including what relationships people have and who they tend to go to for advice.
“I would try to make that visible,” Tröster said. That way, he said, workers know who they’re expected to go to and leaders and employees can agree to the arrangement.
Don’t be afraid to be different
For those taking over a new role while their predecessor is still around — especially someone as “established and admired” as Anna Wintour, it’s important to take advantage of your access to them, Amanda Augustine, a career coach at resume.io, told BI via email.
“Start the job as a sponge, learning what you can from your predecessor and other colleagues,” she said, adding that it’s important not to stay in information-gathering mode forever.
Jochen Menges, a professor of leadership at the University of Zurich and the University of Cambridge, told BI that new leaders should “be different” and avoid trying to replicate the exact leadership style or strategy of the person they’re replacing.
“If they’re too close, then they’ll seem to be a copy, and then they can never live up,” he said. When new bosses are different in some ways, Menges said, they can be “a leader in their own right.”
