Dear Prof. Watkins,

Julia's predicament is similar to that of anyone who is promoted to the next level from among a peer group and the group members now turn into direct reports.

At the off-site meeting, Julia would do well to:

1. Appreciate the contribution of each member and commend each one of them for their contribution to the organization.

2. Emphasize that team work is what she is committed to; that notwithstanding her elevation as Director of Internet Marketing, she is the first among equals; that she values the contribution of each member of her team.

3. Applaud what has already been achieved under the leadership of Robert; conduct a brainstorming session for ideas on how the division's performance could further be enhanced.

4. Accept the good ideas that emanate from others first; provide them the autonomy to carry out their tasks within the broader framework of the division's and the organization's goals.

5. Win the acceptance of the team members before setting out on her own agenda.

In all of this, Julia's actions will speak much louder than words. She needs to demonstrate that she means what she says.

The probability of her succeeding with her present team would be significantly increased if she were to follow this approach. In an extreme scenario, where, even after she has walked the talk, and has been supportive of her team, she still has any of the team members not aligning with the big picture, she should not hesitate to re-constitute her team. This should be the last resort, but one which every leader has to have the courage of conviction to execute if all other efforts fail.

Warm Regards

Hey M - Hope you're loving Lausanne. I check in on your blog from time to time.

Here are the two key things I think Julia should try to accomplish at the off-site: (1) Make everyone secure in their positions by making it clear that no personnel changes are imminent or even needed. To do otherwise would be to invite guerilla action during her very vulnerable first few months on the job. (2) present (for discussion) her analysis of the situation the org. is facing, her assessment of the pros and cons of the existing strategy in the context of her situational analysis, and some insights into her thinking about strategic adjustments. Then, "thinking" assignments should be made to group leaders and a follow up off-site should be arranged for, say, a month later. This inclusive but steadily progressive approach is the one most likely to begin the process of transition to a new strategy and least likely to trigger right-off-the-bat organized resisitance to her ideas for the future.

All the best,

Pete

Julia should –

Not undo or break what is already made, therefore first try with reinforcing confidence on all members to avoid any conflicts of interest. The change in style of leadership will require being gradual and not rapid to make it successful. Andy will have to be dealt with extreme care as he is priceless and also because he must be having issues with her promotion. Being tactful is the key – Confide him, try joining hands with him, give him promises/hopes of growth upon the required level of contribution for Alpha’s growth
Amanda has to be encouraged to step up on performance. Probably, being more than business colleagues gives that advantage to Julia to speak frankly on expected level of performance and the rewards upon success or consequences upon failure.
On off-site day she needs to be very casual, sound friendly/approachable and easy going while keeping in mind the end objective and the diplomatic approach to be pursued in order to build the confidence with the members.
Convey the vision regarding the future goals and milestones to achieve to all team members and help them realize how significant their contribution will be

On the off-site Julia should first start by identifying the goals of the department in relation to the organizations goals. Sounds as if she has identified solutions, but has she clearly identified the goals? By asking for the teams input she will create the dynamics she is looking for, ownership and accountability. If this is her leadership style it may not be what the others are looking for. This will allow for natural change and shift of momentum with the group.

N. Kenney

Julia should go herself to these most attractive market segments, bring one or 2 of the segment leaders to the point of presentation, conduct same with andy playing an important part, can see firsthand what her game plan is, where shes going, as market positioning and message man should savour opportunity to convert these guys to clients, and look forward to future with capable leader.

does she really feel a day out may bring something out of amanda she hadnt seen before? if so go for it, but shouldnt present a situation where amanda feels this could be make or break, julias experience to date seems to be that amanda isnt gonna bring the contribution she needs, maybe use the day as a vehicle to find amanda another less responsible/strategic position

The off site meeting poses what I consider a remarkable opportunity for idea development, conducting the meeting in a formal setting such as over dinner in a nice restaurant would enable Julia to set a congenial and formal relationship with her new reports, in a way that speaks more to her new found authority than lunch or breakfast might. Perhaps Mr. Collin's "hands on" approach detracted from idea development if people did not have the breathing room to develop their ideas with their colleagues first. A brainstorming session on things that may have held back the firm under Collin's rule is crucial to do at this point. Additionally, it is important for Julia to establish her vision at this point; both to establish her sense of authority as well get her reports focused on what future priorities lay ahead. Articulating the past successes of her division while discussing areas to improve upon will set a tone of both energy and modesty that is healthy for this first meeting.

Vision, direction etc will follow the impact the change in leadership has on day to day working.

Perhaps one of the issues that Julia would have to spell out is the style of working. Without stating why she would prefer this approach over Collin's, she would have to make it clear there will be a change in working style and what she would expect from the team.

Not doing so will immediately put her up for comparison with Collin on the similar approach and since this is not her style, it will add one more dimension of anxiety for her as she takes up the new challenges.

The visioning can follow.

With best regards,
Siva

What Julia does at her off-site meeting will be absolutely key. She must start as she means to go on. There's no 'one solution fits all' answer to this situation and what she does will depend very much on her personality and that of her new direct reports.

My pointers would be:

1. Be very clear about her outcomes in her own mind. What does she want to have happen? How can she achieve this? How can she get her team on side?

2. Pay due courtesy to her predecessor while making sure that everyone knows she is a different person with a different style. She needs to establish her authority from the outset.

2. Having set out her stall, so to speak, she should invite contributions from her team and then LISTEN to what they say. Giving them the opportunity to put their views in an open way will strengthen her position as the new leader. Having the meeting off-site is a very good idea.

3. While not discounting entirely her knowledge of her new team's personalities and behaviour she should remember that they are in a different place now - just as she is. She needs to start from NOW - not where she was before her promotion.

4. She should avoid 'projecting'. I've seen this happen so many times "Oh if I say that he will think this" or "If I ask her to do this she will think I'm that".

5. Remember that she is building a new team which will go through all the traditional processes that a team goes through.

6. Finally, be relaxed and calm and LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN!

Angela Lawrence

Hi,

Julia has to decide whether to present her vision and then invite discussion on how to achieve it, or to invite general discussion on how to move forward and then present her vision.

Doing the former risks alienating her subordinates and appearing to be dictating the agenda, whilst doing the latter may be seen as lacking direction and runs the risk that her team might come up with a totally different strategy which she then has to block.

As the narative says that she's "convinced" that a new marketing strategy is required, I would favour the first route whereby she sets out her goals, and then makes it clear that her style is to devolve authority and invite discussion.

Regards,
David Pickering

There are 3 major things
1) Julia's predicament with her peers as subordinates
2)Her leadership style is different than what was that of Collin's, which the team was used to till now
And
3) She was convinced that there needs to be a change in Alpha's startegy, which also meant reallocation of resources.

I will suggest a two day meeting:-

First day will focus on team building exercises, ending with a presentation from Julia.
First day Julia must take full opputunity to ensure that the team is supportive and has a buy-in as a team member.The meet can also have an external consultant/trainer to break ice and have some team building exercises. Towards the end acknowledge that she respects what each of them have contributed to Alpha's stature today.She must make sure to recognise individual contributions elaborately.

The second day can be a work shop on the future path for Alpha:-
Here Julia must present her analysis of the situation and market. The strategy she suggests for Alpha's future and enagage the team in brainstorming and definite action points in this direction.

If a change in strategy is an outcome, her challenge is nearly solved. She can then propose the reallocation of resources and pin responsibilities with the individuals. This way she will have their buy-in more comfortably.

The meet should end up with definitive action points, goals & Objectives laid out with responsibilities earmarked, commitment and high spirits of team.

It all depends on how Julia behaved prior to her promotion. Was she sensitive to her peers, or was she nurturing secret ambitions of reaching the top, not caring much about her peers? What value did she communicate to her peers during her conversations? What's dear to her heart? Is her vision holistic or narrow?

So, to me all these questions matter most. One can't suddenly expect co-operation from peers. She must also be clear that welfare of others is the thing that matters most, and that any hidden agenda will only upset her colleagues. Her new position calls for maturity, and a kind heart. If she doesn't have them, invoking them should be her priority. The rest will follow.

The simple fact of inviting her team/colleagues to a one-day meeting, shows to me that Julia does encourage cooperation as long as the team does not see this initiative as an opportunity for Julia to advance her cause and look even better in face of her VP.

Julia is obviously facing a very common challenge. There is no doubt in my mind that the competitive aspect of this new appointment will ruffle a few feathers but should plane itself out eventually, if Julia is takes the necessary time to listen to her colleagues / team members. Julia should ask everyone invited to the meeting to bring their "proposal" for their view of the marketing strategies to be adopted. This way, she is telling everyone that she needs their support and, most importantly, that their views do count in the final decision. Julia should certainly not publish her views before the meeting. This would be a "faux pas" in that it may create a bias in what her colleagues prepare.

At the meeting, Julia should organize the discussion in the format of a brainstorming session and encourage everyone's input, again showing her interest in everyone's views, values, strategies, etc...
She should use the last 2 hours of the day to create a common proposal that the majority of team members approve. The resulting report for the revised marketing strategy should be signed by all before it is presented to the VP.

Warning flares went off for me well before the discussion of the tearm building session. Collins was successful. Julie was promoted as his replacement. She has an agenda for change that Collins knows nothing about. She believes that she can convince him of the need for the change. Talk about ego issues.
If she intends to allow her new subordinates considerable freedom she needs to begin a process of "thinking with" rather than "convincing."
Can she create a shared vision that is not the same thing as her agenda for change? If she can't do that then "vesting more authority with the team" is not likely to be fruitful.
She can't have it both ways. She cannot impose her previously developed set of plans and simultaneously create "collective accountability."

Julia's off-site retreat:

Research shows employees do not trust their employer nor the management team. I suggest Julia include four words in her meeting:

Communication, Understanding, Confidence, Trust

Communication and Trust: Julia has defined her personal opinion regarding the direction of the company; however, before presenting her goals, she should allow each co worker the opportunity to present their ideas and views; this approach would allow Julia (a). to identify similar ideas; (b). to find ways to strengthen her approach along with the ideas of her team (c). once these ideas are made public and appear similar to the team's ideas, the team will be more willing to buy in;

Trust: Julia should have a one on one meeting with each team member to further understand their concerns, comments and future with the organization;

The off site meeting's purpose should be clearly defined including goals and objectives;

Trust: As a result of the meeting, a tangible resource such as a plan of action is needed; this allows the team to work to stay on track; at the same time, if team buys in, the plan allows the team to have something positive to talk about, which will assist in building one on one relations;

Trust: Monthly reviews should be considered to discuss the plan and modifications along with monitoring and tracking of goals not only to identify gaps in the plan but to prevent thoughts of undermining of team members and also serves as a confidence builder for the team and its leader;

Trust: When Julia makes decisions, these decisions (at this crucial time) should be a result of the goals and mission of the organization and the plan of action;

Communication: Team should be kept informed builds relations and trust;

Understanding: Julia's style has already been defined by her colleagues; Julia needs to understand her limitations; Julia should give credit/accommodation to the author of the manifested ideas;

Confidence: Professional Development should also be at the table whether the development means moving up or moving out.

Julia has 2 people problems, a business direction problem and a resource allocation problem.

The offsite should obviously be used to present the new business direction and solicit feedback based on that direction. Andy is very important to her new business direction and that should be made known. Hopefully, this public acknowledgment of his importance will (hopefully) somewhat blunt his disappointment at not getting the job.

I'm not sure Amanda is a problem. Asking for advice is not the sign of a poor leader. It's what she does with that advice that is the better indicator. If she has so far been using good judgement, I'd let it ride and see what happens.

I have no problem with her pursuing the market segments most likely to use their product. It makes sense and no business can realistically please the entire spectrum of users. However, since she is changing the direction bit, it may make more sense to use the resources to continue to get new customers in the various segments rather than to retain customers, some of whom are sure to be displeased by the changes which will appear in the product. Accept that the changes are going to cause you to lose a few customers. The idea is that she will gain many more than she loses by being more focused.

Michael, my name is Tim Hamel and I instruct the Sport and Exercise Psychology class at CSU, Fresno. This week, our topic is leadership. I have selected Goleman's What makes a leader: The intangible qualities," to introduce leadership. The following responses are a summary from five groups within the class as to the direction Julia should take:
1. Role acceptance - the class felt that the crucial issue was with Andy and the potential jealousy/ill feelings that could arrise. Julia needs to reinforce that Andy and his talent is needed for team success (Delegate Andy to a leadership responsibility within the group dynamics)
2. Role clarity - relationship with Amanda. Define what her role is within the organization. Julia to Amanda - these are my responsibilites and I will be fair in my evaluation of you within this organization...
All groups responded by stating some thing to the effect of these two components needed to be addressed/resolved BEFORE Julia could share her vision/direction.
The groups summarized that Julia HAS to stick to what made her successful - good communication skills. If she tried to adopt a new "personality" (which happens when some one is promoted) her co-workers will notice and lose respect for her.

Thanks - this example (which happens on a daily basis in all professions) provided the class with a solid framework to apply "conceptual knowlegde" to a real world issue.

Tha class of Sport and Exercise Psychology
CSU, Fresno

Before Julia acts, she should develop a plan which will take into account the impact of her initiatives will have on her department as well as the overall organization. With every new promotion or new leadership position, Julia would be wise not to rush in and make dramatic changes.

First, Julia must assess her organization financial health and what impact her initiatives will have.

Second, Julia needs to evaluate her teams ability to carry out plans.

Third, Julia should run her plans, initiatives pass Collins for buy-in and or suggestions. After all, she still reports to him.

The off-site retreat should wait until she has more information to present to her team.

Homer Carter

Hi to all,

This is very important that 1) Julia shows all the current team that she will not change or treat anyone differently from what was in the past when she was still a manager. Her new team members should undertand that they will work with "old" Julia that just have got more responsibilities as a Director and that they can come to her any time there is a problem with any project or at work with peers etc. Although Julia needs to make sure also that her team also undertands that her responsibility involves more tasks and issues then before and by being friedly Julia doesn't mean to leteveryone do what they want; 2) very helpful will be for Julia to secure her staff that noone will go nowhere and that in order to be a successful team she will need to have everyone in the team who will work as hard as before. Everyone is needed, vealuable and extremely helpful and that she, as a Director of the team, will ensure that everyone is heard and can express their opinions about everything to her.
3) If there is a need in any change in the structure of the team or project the change should happen slowly.

Thank you for your attention. This is a great discussion.

Dear Prof. Watkins,
As Mr. Pete and Mr. Krishnamurthy have already mentioned that this is a typical situation where most of the future leaders have to deal with. I would like to draw few of the points that can be of help in such a scenario

1) Julia will have to understand what are the needs of the team members so that she can design proper motivation strategy for each team member. Once she has a proper motivation strategy in place and running, she can lead team smoothly.

2) She should try to have as flaten structure as possible. Environment should remain informal that will make other team member comfortable in working with her.

Regards,
Satyendra
MBA Student, Lancaster University

I believe to successful on her new role she has to have a three stage plan .

1.Take time listen to her teammates views and direction in which they believe will be best for the company and challenge the team to think outside the box

2.Allow team to reconcile ideas ,

3. Agree when each is action to be implemented , by who and what the critical indicators of success will be

This actions I believe will glue the team together and build a sense of ownership .

Julia has two major issues
1. Acceptance 2. strategy change

Her strength
Good communication skills, counsellor, and effective marketer.

weakness
effect of relationship on her role

opportunity
off camp meeting to rebuild and redirect team
niche market

Threat
Risk of failure to rally team behind her
highly competitive market

Her strength can be readily employed to resolve the issues as ff;

Prepare effectively for the off camp meeting by celebrating the promotion of Colins and Julia as the promotion of the team.

Promote communication as the new slogan or rally word for the team. This would allow them some perceived freedom of expression a necessary prelude to the strategy session.

Then Julia should have a team building session with andy and amanda as team leaders to present team views at planery sessions.

Then have a swot of the orginasation and us the analysis to develop the strategy and possible redirection.

This process may enhance ownership and trust

Julia then would have to sum up the session with her gratitude and vision for the organisation derived from the session by addressing all the issues. By using this collective approach you tend to gain ownership, acceptance, trust, responsibility and develop improved communication amongst the team.

It's good that Julia has planned the off-site meeting as soon as possible because it would give her the opportunity to have some bonding time with her direct reports sooner than later.

Julia should accomplish the following points at the meeting:

1. Discuss her new strategy with the team and get their buy-in. This would be an open discussion so that that the team can freely pitch in the ideas for a great brainstorming session. Through this bonding session is how Julia will build support for her agenda.

2. Evaluate each of the direct reports strengths and weaknesses

2a. Andy - Andy will ofcourse have some resentment. Julia needs to convey to Andy that she values him as a great asset to the company and to her team. She needs to approach Andy as his peer and not as his boss, but be "boss-like" when needed.

2b. Amanda - Julia should evaluate Amanda's performance. As a Marketing Manager, Amanda should take the initiative, be a thinker and decision-maker. If these qualities are lacking in Amanda, Julia should let her know diplomatically. This will either make or break Amanda.

Change of leadership brings in a certain amount of uncertainty and instability in the system. Since the company has done well under Collins, it would not make sense to go in for major changes or upheavals. Julia should allow the system some time to adjust to the new set up. At the off-site, she should meet each of her past peers individually and collectively and make them feel more comfortable. The discussions would lead to some things being changed and others strengthened. Julia needs to follow her convictions while at the same time she needs to follow a peer-boss approach, which would at times be walking an extremely thin line. If she does not want a resentful colleague, the best strategy would be to give some additional responsibilities to Andy, that would to a large extent assuage his feelings. Amanda needs to be heard and understood more before a key decision concerning her role is taken.

Ditto what George Lehman said, and I would add:

There is change in the wind, and no change management plan. Develop a change management plan, and get buy-in from upper management -- have a sponsor.

Apply appreciative inquiry.

Ditch the 2day team meeting. I don't think it is good form to bring new food to the table, without gaining a thorough knowledge base of what's already there.

Know everything. Develop a vision in line with strategic goals. Track performance metrics, have facts to back up everything that supports the vision.

Build trust by staying real, stay focused on the strategic objectives of the business, not personal agenda.

Hi,
Thi situation happens many times in Industry.It is a fact that Julia has occupied higher positions over others for the skill and capababilities which the top management considered are required for the post. Others do understand it. Hence there is no pointing in going an extra mile to attract people and get their consent to run the way she likes to run. However the pleasantness and cordiality will be there.The meeting organized can be used to exchange pleasantaries and talk about the trend of the the trade and Industry and to talk about the achievement of others in a similar line. During the process many useful informartion can be exchanged which Julia should note.
Later the persons should be called alone to be given a feeling of importance and get a little eloborartion of the thoughts conveyed.
Finally Julia should carry her work the way in whcih he feels correct and after assessing the views in the above said manner. The message and command will be pleasantly to be conveyed.
Julia should stick to her contention, policy and methods ofcoursr after a careful thought process and proceed without any hesitation.
narasimhan

Hi,
Thi situation happens many times in Industry.It is a fact that Julia has occupied higher positions over others for the skill and capababilities which the top management considered are required for the post. Others do understand it. Hence there is no pointing in going an extra mile to attract people and get their consent to run the way she likes to run. However the pleasantness and cordiality will be there.The meeting organized can be used to exchange pleasantaries and talk about the trend of the the trade and Industry and to talk about the achievement of others in a similar line. During the process many useful informartion can be exchanged which Julia should note.
Later the persons should be called alone to be given a feeling of importance and get a little eloborartion of the thoughts conveyed.
Finally Julia should carry her work the way in whcih he feels correct and after assessing the views in the above said manner. The message and command will be pleasantly to be conveyed.
Julia should stick to her contention, policy and methods ofcoursr after a careful thought process and proceed without any hesitation.
narasimhan

Hi,

Ofcourse,team building & giving them a new direction/goal/vision/mission & working on it - needs a lot of exercises to do. I think that Julia should do SWOT analysis about her plan & should devise a vivid strategy about her goal. It seems that her goal is in sync with her company's long term goal. As julia is already known to her team members, hope she can easily communicate the goals to her team. Before that, she should make Andy & Amanda feel comfortable & also make them realise that they are the invaluable assets not only to the company but also to her.

Then she can go ahead and have brainstorming session on her goal with her team. After thorough assessment of views,ideas, suggestions from others, Julia should devise an effective strategy to implement the plan & communicate them to her team.

In brief, she should: first Define realistic objectives, Build trust with team members, Clearly communicate the objectives, Brainstorming, Develop solid & flexible plans with a pragmatic approach, Ask feedback, Define roles & authority for Andy & Amanda and Implement the plans made.

---
Regards,
Guru.
1st yr. MBA student

Julia has the first major issue of her acceptance by the team, and second major issue of directing the team effort towards achieving the goals she believes in.

For increasing her acceptance, she would need to reassure people on two counts : no change in the roles, and she would continue to listen to all, and delegate to all.

Next, she should spell out her vision, break it into small parts and ask the team members to work in groups of two on those, and come up with action plans, with pros and cons highlighted.

Next she should invite a presentation by each group, where the group would present the pros, rest of the team would try to find loopholes, and then the roles would reverse.

Regards
Gautam

I am new to the blog, hope everyone is doing just fine. I personally enjoy Harvard Business Review publications, and the blog is a great "lab" to put ideas in practice and get good valuable feedback.

1. First step is to get the team trust, the off-site meeting is a great idea. Julia should submit options on probable location to the team members, based on her previous knowledge of the team. What kind of places does Amanda enjoy? What about Andy? Was there any ocassion under Collins management where the team expressed desire to do team building activity? Was there a particular location proposed for this? Julia should set the expectation of the off-site meeting as an "Strategic Planning Meeting", therefore she will define her role as the new manager (lightly) and will show to the team she values their opinions since the first act of management. "Where do you want to go for the meeting?", no further detail shall be shared (Agenda) in order to create expectation since the team was not used to that under Collins management.

2. Prior to the meeting, Julia should talk personally to Andy, in an informal way; not call him to her office, but approach him and talk privately. Julia should show respect to Andy, since he is kind of ego-driven, she should start recognizing Andy's most valuable contributions to the team and make him know Collins was promoted because of this specific tasks accomplished by him, and specially due to his good collaboration with the team. Since Andy was in charge of message development, and communication was not very enforced during Collins period, Julia should make a highlight to Andy that there is a lot of room to grow in the message development area, and that she needs him to do this. Make him feel VERY important to the team, almost her right hand; and finally make him know there are some ideas she would like to discuss with him about future growth, after all Collins went up thanks to the team hard work, she should imply the idea of paralell growth based on the new strategy (im supposing this is a GREAT strategy from Julia that could drive more growth if well executed).

3. The approach for Amanda shall be different, Julia should not contact Amanda privately before the offsite meeting. Julia seems to be respected by Amanda, so she should act as a manager. In the meeting, she should be specially "warm" to her, to show there is more than a management vs resource relation; and that this "business colleague" they got is genuinue and has not changed because of Julias promotion; Assuming Julia DOES believe this, otherwise it will look fake.

4. At the off-site meeting Julia should applaud Collins work and thank the team for this accomplishment; she should make the team now they are (ALL including herself) a good team, proof of this is Collins promotion.

5. The way to introduce the agenda is a general brainstorm on what has been accomplished in the past, but how could it be better,,,, listen to team ideas until Andy proposes an idea similar to her strategy, then she must introduce her idea to complement "Andy's idea". That way Andy will feel secure of his role, and will acknowledge the message that Julia privately gave him before the meeting, he is in the team to take decisions, propose, and be the right hand. She should encourage Amanda to approve this ideas, and make her feel she can share her opinions and is valuable part of the team as well. At the end of the meeting, conclude with all the room for growth that this new team strategic ideas can achieve. Make them know there is direct benefit for the team, and that this new team ideas will drive revenue to the company and will open the doors for new opportunities. Make them own the idea, finally assign responsabilities individually always asking if the approach sounds good to the team members individually, that will reinforce her management new role. She should assign an "operational task" herself, show that she can still get the job done as she did before when they were colleagues. In the future, when she gets the team trust completely (lead by example) she can move completely to the management tasks, also let the team drive outsourcing completely when necessary; that will create the idea that the team also has management roles, and that they are all there to be future leaders by growing together, just as Collins did.

Dear Professor Watkins,

I see Julia's predicament not necessarily as a single one day off site retreat / brainstorming session but more a multi faceted approach starting with accolades and positive reinforcement prior to the one day session. Additionally, Julia recently moved into a new position where in the past she was a contributing member to a well functioning team/group (presumed).

With that said, I assume that Julia has already earned the respect of her coworkers and has demonstrated leadership characteristics (implied or perceived) and will require little time for managing team or group dynamics.

Even though Julia has an agenda of he own there are times that self deserved or wanted results should be set aside for the betterment of all. I would spend the day having an agenda that identifies opportunities for,
• Meeting objectives
• What are the participants expectations for the day,
• open / honest discussion,
• group / individual challenges past present and future,
• Where are we (their perspective)
• What opportunities do they see and
• How do they envision getting there

If the meeting demonstrated a continued cohesive approach (Julia) may find an opportunity to interject her own ideas/concepts. However, with that Julia should be conscience that her changes in direction may require a change management approach to ensure the collective goals and objectives are met. Further, Julia needs buy-in from her now subordinates maybe it best that she plants the seed and they (her team) develop the answers and she softly directs (at least during the first day)?

Regards CGE

Julia may take her "SELF" lightly enough to make her ex colleagues
comfortable. At the same time she needs to take her 'WORK" seriously enough to contibute & make others contribute.

Buddhaprakash

Work is not a problem because all the former peers of Julia are professional enough and they know how to get things done sucessfully.

Problem lies in the new established relationship between Julia & Others.

So first of all the off-site strategy should be:
1. Simply arrange a get-toghether where Julia can share her views & vision about her working style (Obviously as a Boss she must have different style of working as compared to when she was a co-worker.)

2. What i personally feel is that for a initial period of time Julia need to give free hand to her new subordinates and simultaneously she is required to watch the official footprints of all her new co-workers.

Prof Watkins,

Julia should make the off-site a business casual retreat. This way they can discuss business and still have fun. Being in a lighter mood some poeple's feelings about the issue will be betrayed.
Then at the retreat, she should let everyone know that they are all a team, a team needed by the organisation for it to forge ahead.

Amanda should be no threat. She had always consulted Julia before the official promotion. All Julia has to do is to keep-up the relationship they had and Amanda will be relaxed about the whole thing.

Andy on the other hand was a competitor. He might want to play smart on her by challenging her a lot. Julia should not let her guard down. Though she should see him as a valuable member of her team rather than a vanquished. There is a reason she was selected and not him. She should always remember.

Dear Prof Watkins,
There is a two fold problem for Julia, the day she starts with her new role

a. Collin had done a considerable amount of hand holding, if Julia starts letting the team take decisions, they may not be used to such situations.So doing a considerable amount of hand holding initially to make the team understand her ways is crucial

b. Maybe as peers a lot would have been discussed before her promotion, keeping those ideas in sight would not help, she needs to restart a communication channel which would be more focussed towards what the team thinks they need to do, as well as what their real aspirations are. The team must come to a feeling of being able to confide in Julia.

Im taking for granted the premise of the whole thing where in Julia is looking for a change in direction in the marketing strategy and to a lesser extent in the way the business is being run right now. That might not exactly be within her purview as Director, Internet Marketing.

In any case this scenario is more about how Julia is going to deal with her employees, especially Andy and Amanda.

Andy
Julia sees a massive shift in focus and marketing strategy under her leadership, this is right up Andy's lane of competence which is market positioning and message development. So yes he would be an asset. If there is a difference in the core competence areas of Julia and Andy, it makes sense to give him de facto power and flexibility over that area. She could probably make a new post for him, where he would report to her but has authority over his area. Besides if he knows what he is doing Julia will be better served in letting him do his job. A man driven by ego need not be a liability, once his ego is pandered to, my bet is he would have all the enthusiasm of a new convert.

Amanda
She is not potentially a problem. In fact Amanda can be nothing but an asset for Julia. Julia has recently been promoted to position. The promotion itself being unexpected for most. There will inevitably be doubts at her competence and her wisdom. Under these situations it is necessary to have somebody who is loyal and trusts your judgement as your number 2. Amanda has already shown that she trusts and respects Julia's opinions. It doesn't matter if Amanda is no great shakes as a leader. Her job is to put into motion the ideas and strategy that Julia has devised for Alpha. Yes, Julia will have to change her style of operation and have to be more hands on in Amanda's case.There can't be a one size fits all style for all employees. But isn't that true for all managers.

Julia needs to act fast. She was promoted to a post which requires her to manage her peers. But she is yet to gain the complete acceptance from the team. She has her own ideas on how to take the team forward and that requires significant change in the way the things are implemented before she got promoted. Andy must be fuming. He should not only cope with the disappoinment of not getting the promotion but has to report to a person who was once his peer and on top of that he has to change the way he works to accomodate the new strategy of his 'once-peer-boss'. If I was Andy, I will be contemplating on quitting. Thats why Julia should act fast. Julia needs Andy.
1) Julia should not wait for the off suite. She should meet Andy personally as soon as possible. She must convey that though she was now the manager, she requires the help of senior people like Andy to help her with the role. She should ask him to be a sort of informal management consultant in her new role. She should do this carefully without loosing her authority but should bring in a situation that she brings in more power to Andy. she should discuss that she has some ideas and want Andy's help in evaluating it.
Asking a fuming peer for help and treating them above you with respect wll defuse the peer from te anger. Andy must be angry with Julia so far. But after this, Andy's anger would have been directed towards the system and he would be willing to help out Andy.
2) As far as Amanda is concerned, though she is the friend of Julia, she does not fit into the core of the plans of Julia. Now Julia has to carefully fabricate a responsibility which is not in the core of activites that Julia plans to do and but a more of a functional role and should put Amanda right there. A sort of a role which does not demerits Amanda but make her feel that she was given a significant responisbility.
The key is to create a win win situation.