In one line: You get roughly ninety days in a new leadership role to learn the job, build relationships and create momentum. Leaders who stall in that window rarely recover the lost ground.
Core idea
People change roles every few years: a new boss, a new level, a new team, a new organization. Each transition is a vulnerable period. The new leader is visible, judged quickly and still learning. The program’s workbook builds on Michael Watkins’s research on leadership transitions, using short cases to practice the choices a new leader faces.
How it works
Our own summary of the main themes:
- Make the mental switch. Stop relying on what made you successful in your old role, and deliberately take on the perspective of the new one.
- Learn fast and in the right order. Understand the technical work, the culture and the politics. Listen to many people before acting on any one view.
- Diagnose the situation. A turnaround, a start-up, a team that needs realigning, and a high performer to sustain each call for a different approach. Don’t apply one playbook everywhere.
- Agree on success with your boss. Settle expectations, resources and style early (see Managing Up).
- Secure early wins. Pick a few visible improvements that build credibility and teach you how the organization works.
- Build the team and the coalitions. Assess people fairly, make necessary changes, and cultivate allies beyond your direct reports.
- Keep your balance. Transitions are exhausting. Protect your judgment with support and perspective.
In practice
Even small transitions benefit. For a move from a test role to a design role, or onto a new program, ask:
- Who do I need to meet in the first two weeks?
- What does my new boss consider success?
- What early win could I deliver within a month?
Doing a good hand-off on the way out matters too. Making sure your successor can do the old job is part of leaving well, and people remember it.
Questions to ask yourself
- For my next likely move, what would I need to learn first?
- What expectation should I agree with my next boss in the first week?
- What would a credible early win look like?
Connections
- Relationship side: Managing Up. Ongoing role: Leading from the Middle.
- Entering a culture: Culture and Climate. When the role is a mandate to change: Leading Change.
- Capabilities exercised: Initiative, Vision, Interpersonal Skills, Responsibility and Urgency to Deliver.
Sources
- Watkins (2003) The First 90 Days [1]
- Course workbook on taking charge in a new position; no public source.