The First 90 Days summary

Very few new leaders recognize just how important the first 90 days are in determining whether they sink, swim, or soar. It can be all too easy to focus on getting things done during the honeymoon phase, but an equal commitment to learning and observation can make all the difference in whether or not you’re embraced as a new leader – or frozen out.

Expanded and updated twice since it was first published in 2006, The First 90 Days has become foundational for leaders managing transitions; it helps them have a strong and effective start in any new role. Given that many leadership failures can be traced back to choices made during this early phase, it tackles the preparation, strategizing, team-building, alignment, and self-management required for a successful transition. This includes the sped-up learning process and intense self-assessment required for tackling a new role or building a new team.

In this very short Blink, we’ll zoom in on a particularly key insight, which might even seem counterintuitive at first. It is that balancing your desire for action with a commitment to learning and observation can actually help you thrive during, and long after, those crucial early days.

To find out why, let’s begin with a little story.

What can we learn from Allison’s near disaster? First, leaders should plan for learning like they plan for other aspects of a transition. To adapt successfully, Allison needed to understand the culture in each department she would be working with – and how it manifested within the overall company culture. She’d been convinced that her way was “the right way.” Realizing this meant she needed to look at her leadership style more closely too.

After all, she’d been hand-picked for the new role because of her past success in managing teams – but she hadn’t taken the time to really reflect on her own leadership or compare it to the common leadership style at this new level in the company. She was a star in marketing because she was detail-oriented and had a strong need for process control. But these strengths didn’t help her with the technical members of the team, who were used to consensus-building in flattened hierarchies. Consensus-building wasn’t one of her strength areas – and it needed to be.

By taking stock of her leadership style and getting a better understanding of the inner workings of her team, Allison realized she had blind spots in several key areas that manifested as learning blocks. Her desire to be seen as hitting the ground running meant that these learning blocks became vulnerabilities in her new role; they threatened her ability to lead and alienated her team.

Through this process of self-reflection, Allison came to understand what her vulnerabilities were in the new role. Her desire for control had to be transformed into an ability to delegate. She needed to understand consensus-building – and how to align herself with this new group dynamic instead of trying to maintain “business as usual.” 

To be effective in any new leadership role, balance your desire for action with a real dedication to learning and observation. If you feel like you’re too busy to learn, it could be the start of a downward spiral that accelerates failure. But happily, just being perceived as someone who is eager and willing to learn can help ease fraught transitions and increase your credibility with a new team. 

Ultimately, balancing your need to do with an equal amount of listening and learning can help keep your first 90 days in a new role on track.