Navigating the First 100 Days in a New Role

When I got my role at YouTube/Google, my brother, who was then a COO of a company, recommended a book that I must read, The First 90 Days.

(By the way, I don’t know why the author didn’t choose 100. Most people like big round numbers. But I get it, the first quarter is the focus.)

Talented leaders sometimes fall into a trap that they must avoid - starting to fix things and constantly in motion to show their value. They can often mistake activity for impact. They rely too much on their skillsets and perhaps bring in the working culture of the old company. 

The best advice I’ve heard from an executive for how to handle the first 100 days is this - “be a sponge.”  It’s an opportunity to observe, learn, and then integrate. 

There is an incredible need to lean into Self-Awareness. People are watching your body language, your insights, and your questions.  But also it’s an opportunity to lean into your surroundings. Before changing anything, listen to the room. What are people saying in meetings? What topics make people uncomfortable? What is not being said?

You were hired for your expertise, so you also don’t want to disappear into the background. You need to speak up with a grounded sense of Executive Presence. There is a need to be composed and approachable. You can ask hard questions, and also signal that you have arrived with gravitas to lead through ambiguity.

The first 100 days should also be a window of opportunity in Communication. Don’t wait for your boss to tell you how you’re doing. Ask them about timelines, what good looks like, and what failure looks like, too. 

How you operate in these first few months can become your baseline. If you set a tempo of 100 mph on day one, you’re creating a trap for yourself. You have to demonstrate focus. The leaders I work with who nail their first 100 days slow down enough to see the landscape clearly, used the pillars of leadership to calibrate their approach, and then made intentional choices about how to move forward.

Next Steps: Transitioning into a new role is complex terrain. You don’t have to guess your way through it. Let’s schedule a 1:1 chemistry session.