How can you make the most of your first 90 days in a new executive role?

Your first 90 days are an opportunity to learn, build relationships, and demonstrate your leadership potential. By following these tips, you can lay a solid foundation for success in your new executive role. Build a Strong Foundation: • Learn and Listen. • Clarify Expectations. • Build Relationships Take Action: • Set Priorities: Analyze the information you gathered and set realistic. • Identify Quick Wins • Communicate Effectively Lead with Purpose: • Be Decisive. • Empower Your Team. • Be Flexible and Adaptable. Additional Tips: • Seek Feedback. • Don't Overwhelm Yourself. • Celebrate Milestones.

Since change is constant, leading the way is essential, whether in a new or existing executive management role. I recommend the following 5 main steps: ~ Immediately build trust and motivate your team; Initiate a culture of innovation and change. ~ Diagnose the curent situation with SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats): Resolve urgent issues as a priority. ~ Communicate an inspiring mission/vision for change with SMART goals: (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-Bound). ~ Develop a Strategy and Roadmap with milestones; Execute the strategy and measure progress at milestones. ~ Adapt to any needed changes with agility; Evaluate and celebrate overall results.

In the first 30 days of a new executive role, focus on researching the company, connecting with stakeholders, and understanding the organisational culture. Listen to team members, assess strengths and weaknesses, and communicate your vision. In my opinion the first 30 days are the most important.

The best way to make the most of your first 90 days in an Executive role, is to be a great listener. By casting a vision for what you would like the future to look like, as well as listening to all people around you for there ideas, concerns, and issues, you will be able to gauge the culture and where you can be most effective in getting people aligned towards your vision.

Before I start a digital transformation in a company, I always do a research phase. This includes at least three months in which I speak to all relevant stakeholders to understand the needs and hurdles in the company. It's not always just technical restrictions such as data silos, but rather organizational or cultural hurdles. Culture and organization are important and supporting pillars in a transformation. Listen and understand. To do this, I use qualitative methods such as interviews to dig in deeper into relevant topics. For me, these are the first 90 days that I currently spent in my role as CIO. After all these conversations and new knowledge, I am able to derive a vision for digital transformation and translate it into a strategy.

As said elsewhere - be yourself, simply talk to the people, say "hello!" and don´t talk to them business rather than introduce yourself and find common ground. Having a coffee together helps a lot now and then.

In your new executive role, prioritising relationship-building is key. Focus on establishing trust and building rapport with peers, direct reports, and senior leaders. Strive to understand their perspectives, motivations, and concerns. Communicate your vision, values, and priorities clearly, ensuring alignment and clarity. Listen. Demonstrate appreciation, respect, and empathy in your interactions, fostering a positive work environment. Actively solicit feedback and input, showing that you value their opinions and insights. Steer clear of favoritism, assumptions, or actions that could lead to conflicts. Building these strong relationships will lay a foundation for effective teamwork and collaboration going forward.

Building relationships is equally crucial. Establish connections with key stakeholders, both within and outside the organization. Understanding their perspectives and expectations fosters a collaborative environment. Engage in open dialogue to create a shared vision for success.

Nos primeiros 90 dias, construir confiança e relacionamentos sólidos é vital. Compreender as perspectivas e motivações de colegas e subordinados cria um ambiente de trabalho colaborativo. Comunicar visão e valores de forma transparente e consistente fortalece o respeito mútuo. Solicitar feedback e demonstrar apreço são chaves para um ambiente de trabalho positivo e produtivo, evitando favoritismos e conflitos desnecessários.

Según mi experiencia cuando eres el nuevo, independiente que tu rol sea el de directivo, es importancia establecer relaciones. Definir y clasificarlas, si se tiene en cuenta que posiblemente no tengas alcance a todo el equipo. La cercanía con lideres y posiciones estratégicas para el desarrollo del negocio, son claves para el logro de resultados.

Once you have defined and communicated your strategy to your team, it is is important to clarify expectations with your superiors, team members and other stakeholders, so everyone understands how you plan to deliver your results. Staying flexible and adaptable is is essential, as you implement your strategy be prepared to adapt based on what is working and what needs adjustment. Create effective feedback loops so that you can navigate potential risks, develop contingency plans and continue to refine your approach. Remember to make time for professional and personal development. Identify areas where you can enhance your skills, and knowledge so that you can develop an inclusive approach.

Após entender a situação e os relacionamentos, é hora de desenvolver uma estratégia alinhada à missão e valores da organização. Defina metas claras e ações específicas. Comunicar frequentemente a estratégia para a equipe e stakeholders é crucial para garantir entendimento e apoio. Mostrar como a estratégia se encaixa nos objetivos gerais da empresa é fundamental para o engajamento. Incluir a equipe no planejamento e execução reforça a colaboração e o comprometimento.

As you develop and implement your strategy in your new executive role, align it with the organisation's mission and values, and clearly define your objectives. Communication is key; consistently share your strategy with your team and stakeholders, demonstrating its alignment with the organisation's overarching goals. Critically, involve your team in the planning process for a collaborative approach. Validate your strategy by enrolling stakeholders and team members, testing and refining it based on their feedback before broadcasting it widely. This iterative process ensures your strategy is not only well-conceived but also resonates effectively within the organisational framework, fostering commitment and success.

Identify key priorities and ensure your initiatives contribute to the broader mission. This alignment not only enhances your credibility but also reinforces your commitment to the organization’s success.

I doubt that anyone expects a new manager to deliver in the first 90 days anything. It could also be considered as quick shot w/o substance. Don´t rush things, but if you come along say a project which needs support to get on, help out and make it work. By that you´ll show that you´re supportive and helpful. People forget quick shots but they will always gladly remember the guy/gal which helped out.

In your first 90 days in role, it's important to balance long-term strategy with immediate results. Identify opportunities for quick wins—achievable tasks that can be completed that demonstrate you have your arms around the task. Target areas with high impact, visibility, and value to the organisation. Successfully delivering these quick wins not only showcases your capability but also builds momentum, confidence, and credibility. Celebrate and share these achievements with your team and stakeholders, using them as a springboard to build momentum. This approach helps in establishing your leadership and sets a positive tone for your tenure.

Nos primeiros 90 dias, é estratégico alcançar vitórias rápidas para estabelecer credibilidade. Identifique metas de impacto imediato e visibilidade para mostrar resultados efetivos. Celebrar esses sucessos gera impulso e reforça a confiança na sua liderança, pavimentando o caminho para a estratégia de longo prazo.

It takes time, something many execs want more of, to deliver results. Delivering quick wins early on is a strategic move. Identify low-hanging fruit or things that are top of mind for employees where you can be immediately impactful. These achievements not only build confidence within the organization but also set a positive tone for your tenure.

In order to achieve quick success, I will start small initiatives, a kind of speedboats, as part of the digital transformation. These are derived from three months of research where I spoke to many colleagues to find out what our company needs in terms of digitalization. I have depicted use cases that are intended to produce results quickly. This quickly creates acceptance and the basis for further expanding these cases and thus scaling them into the company. The focus will be on data-driven business - and use cases. These focus on low hanging fruits, but contribute to a long-term strategy and tech-architecture.

Using derived use cases/speed boots for our digital transformation, we will break new ground in the data and tech areas. It is important to involve the stakeholders very early on and ask about their ideas that contribute to the planned strategic goals. You should approach this in an agnostic manner and take the skills of the team into account. There are learning curves and usually a lot of passion for tackling new topics. For me, this is the best development of the team so far. It is hands-on, operational, enabled, can make mistakes and enjoys my trust. Much more better then theory. In order to close gaps in skills, I always temporarily strengthen the team with external resources oder intercompany- exchanges.

You should have an idea of what is needed (by the people or you see) BUT you shouldn´t start in your first 90 or 100 with team development. As said - be helpful, be supportive, be approachable, but don´t tell them how to do their jobs during the first 90 (and possibly even later, if they´re good at what they´re doing).

Development of your team is an ongoing priority. Invest time in understanding team dynamics, strengths, and areas for improvement. Tailor your leadership approach to empower individuals and foster a collaborative, high-performing culture.

La cooperación y el trabajo de equipo, son fundamentales para la consecución de tus logros. Si hay personas con habilidades en acciones que tal vez no hagan parte de sus responsabilidades, pero que si pueden sumar al desarrollo y alcance del propósito de otros. Al final las posiciones no son independientes, pueden diferir en sus funciones, pero al final el punto de encuentro es el mismo. Por tanto por que intentar sumarle al otro?

In a couple of words, resist the temptation to micromanage! Instead, work hard and smart to become a mentor. What are the differences between the two? A micromanager makes decisions without input from the team, rarely delegates important tasks, provides feedback that is usually critical, limits the teams' decision-making authority and stifles creativity and progress by rigidly emphasizing strict adheres to the "status quo" and policies and procedures. Mentors on trust their teams to manage their work, value and seek opinions from the team, offers guidance, not "commands" or directives, gives constructive, encouraging feedback and empowers the team to make decisions. Which leaders to a question: which one of there are you? Are you sure?

I've spent my career working on a 90 day rhythm. Do something "cool", show it off, get it adopted, then go back to work on the next item. Evaluating what worked and what didn't across multiple timeframes is key to being able to pick that next problem to tackle or widget to build.

At the end of those 90 days you should have put together a summary of the most important areas. Team, people / teams arround with which to interact, other interfaces (eg. legals, supplier etc.), most important processes, things you noticed (rumours, gossip etc.), budget (especially for trainings etc.) and - most important - what are the most pressing issues - be it from the top brass down to your team, within the team, from the cooperation with other teams or external contacts and then - sort, pack, process.

Regularly evaluate progress against established goals. This iterative process allows for course correction and ensures alignment with evolving organizational needs. Flexibility and adaptability are key attributes during this phase.

I’d argue the most important thing to making the most out of your first 90 days is getting clear on what you want to get out of it. More often than not, we assess our achievements, satisfaction, and productivity by measuring our progress against external criteria, such as goals set by a manager or some status that we are trying to achieve. Leaders who operate in that space often still feel less accomplished and satisfied because the bar keeps moving. I’d encourage any new leader to figure out what would feel most rewarding and measure their progress towards against where they started. It will sustain and motivate you during challenging times during the 90 days and beyond.

The best to do that I would do during my first 90 days is to make a strategic plan, based in the first diagnostic you did of the company, the info you collected from your interviews with the different departments and the goals of your role. If you don’t have this, your first 90 days will be only training, the thing is figure how to solve things since the begging and how your skills could be help to enhance your role

The first 90 days present a unique opportunity to lay the groundwork for success. As an executive with competing priorities, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of the job. Don’t forget about the broader landscape. Stay attuned to industry trends, things happening with competitors, employee feedback, and emerging technologies. This awareness positions you as a forward-thinking leader who can navigate change effectively.

One of the biggest mistakes that new executives make is to rush into making changes without first understanding the business. During the first three months, it's essential to maintain the current level of productivity as a top priority. Take the time to get to know your team members, understand their personalities, and listen to their ideas. It's also important to grasp the key performance indicators (KPIs), existing procedures and policies, and their underlying reasons. Ensure that you comprehend the company's values, goals, and structure as well. Once you have a clear understanding of all aspects of the business, you can begin to identify areas that require improvement to increase productivity and achieve your objectives.

Be careful to not make snap judgements that are based on brief perspective, versus actual facts and observations over time. It’s important to assess quickly and not draw out the assessment timeframe, but due diligence is important for fair assessment of both business and people.