How to Make an Impact as a New Leader in your first 90 Days.
The first 90 days at a new job, particularly as a leader can be a “make it or break it” period of time. It’s a period for learning, adapting and demonstrating your leadership skills for immediate impact.
So how can you take advantage of those first 90 days?
Build Relationships - above, lateral and below.
Creating relationships with your direct reports is super important - but so is creating relationships with the leaders above you - but those who are lateral as well. Here are some of our recommendations to get to know the team all around you.
Schedule 1:1s with your team within the first 30 days. These 1:1s should NOT be project downloads. Get to know your people on a personal and professional level. Use these 1:1s as a way to understand who your new people are, how they like to work, what type of feedback they like to get and how often. This is also an opportunity for you to let them know how YOU like to lead. Use this first 1:1 as a way to establish a regular schedule for these meetings - will they be lead by you or by your employees. Work with what’s comfortable for you.
Schedule Recurring team meetings within your first 90 days. Whatever your schedule looks like - we highly recommend scheduling weekly or bi-weekly meetings with your entire team, particularly within the first 30 and 60 days. This allows you to get those project updates from the team, identify what work is being done and what needs to be done - but also enables you to see the current team dynamic.
Schedule touch bases with other leaders. Whether they’re above your or on your team or in a different department - find time to connect with other leaders. Get their perspective on “how work gets done” at the organization and get some of the behind the scenes obstacles you may face and tips on how to overcome them from the folks who are doing it. Create a regular schedule of these quick meetings with other leaders so you’re staying connected. It’s a great way to find allies in the organization.
Once you’ve schedule your meetings and have an idea of what’s up and what’s down - create a priority list. Identify 3-5 projects or work that can create an immediate impact on the organization. Don’t get too lofty with your goals - find the low hanging fruit for quick wins. Maybe it’s re-organizing a project plan or cleaning up some documentation - find something that your team and your organization will feel the immediate progress. Spread it out - don’t try to get everything done in the first 30 days!
Evaluate your team, their strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. One thing that great leaders do is prioritize the development of their team. Gather your thoughts on how your team works, what opportunities there are for each team member and what you can do to accelerate progress on the team. Share your thoughts with your own leader with a detailed plan of what you’d like to do.
We all have an opportunity, whether as a leader or not to create an impact in our first 90 days. If you’re not a manager of people, it doesn’t mean you still can’t be a leader! Schedule meetings with everyone on your team, get meetings on the calendar with people outside of your team and department. Identify ways that you can offer help, create change or build win-win situations for you and your peers.
What other ways can you make an impact on an organization within the first 90 days?
