Twenty years of assessing networks and individual performance in more than 300 organizations has shown that initiating, engaging, and refining personal networks in targeted ways is critical to successful role transition. Our most recent research revealed specific strategies of people who effectively managed a role transition, offering needed insight for the millions of people who enter a new organization, accept an internal promotion or lateral transfer, or take on a project assignment with a new group. The research also provides guidance for organizations navigating pressing workforce trends toward increased talent mobility. By teaching effective network practices and embedding them into key processes, organizations can enable and accelerate successful transitions into new roles. In this paper, we describe a set of network practices in three categories that new hires and newcomers to a group can implement to successfully transition into their new role:
