The 30-Second Takeaways
🎯 The 90-day mark is crucial: While many focus on the first 30 days in a new role, the 90-day mark is the critical horizon for making a significant impact and aligning with the typical trial period in most job contracts.
📚 Learn from "The First 90 Days": Michael Watkins' book provides valuable strategies, including promoting yourself mentally, accelerating your learning, securing early wins, building your team, and achieving alignment.
🧠 Develop emotional intelligence: While strategic and operational aspects are important, don't neglect the development of soft skills and emotional intelligence, which are crucial for effective leadership.
🌈 Prioritise diversity and inclusion: Foster a diverse and inclusive environment within your first 90 days to build more effective and innovative teams.
🤝 Build support networks: Establish mentorship relationships and support networks to gain valuable guidance and feedback as you navigate your new role.
🔮 Focus on long-term vision: While securing early wins is important, don't neglect setting a direction for the next 1-3 years and engaging in strategic planning.
🎭 Master cultural integration: Go beyond learning about the company culture; aim to shape it and understand the unwritten rules of your new environment.
👥 Manage stakeholders effectively: Develop a robust framework for stakeholder analysis and management, including external stakeholders like investors and board members.
🏷️ Establish your personal brand: Build your credibility and personal brand within the new organisation by leveraging past successes and effectively communicating your strengths.
🚨 Prepare for crisis management: Be ready to handle unexpected crises that may arise, developing strategies for effective communication and decision-making under pressure.
The Full Article
Starting a new job is always an exciting venture, but it can also be quite daunting. Whether you're joining a new company or taking on a new role within your current organisation, the first few months are crucial for setting the tone of your tenure and laying the groundwork for future success. While many focus on the first 30 days, this blog post argues that the 90-day mark is the critical horizon you should be looking at.
The Importance of the 90-Day Mark
The 90-day timeframe aligns with the typical trial period in most job contracts, and for good reason. While 30 days might be enough to settle in and blend in, it's often not sufficient to start having a real impact. As the saying goes, "Failing to plan is planning to fail." While you may not need a rigid plan, having a framework, methodology, or set of guidelines can make all the difference.
Key Insights from "The First 90 Days"
Michael Watkins' book "The First 90 Days" provides a solid foundation for anyone starting a new leadership role. Let's explore some of its key ideas:
1. Promote Yourself
One of the first steps is to mentally and emotionally promote yourself to align with your new role. This means leaving behind old mindsets and responsibilities and adapting your thinking to meet the demands of your new position. It's about talking to yourself as if you were the recruiter, giving yourself the advice you need for this new job.
2. Accelerate Your Learning
Rapid learning about the organisation's culture, processes, and challenges is essential. Watkins recommends a systematic approach, including identifying key stakeholders and understanding organisational dynamics. It's about understanding who does what, who the key stakeholders are, who makes decisions, and what the actual challenges are that you need to navigate.
3. Secure Early Wins
Achieving early successes builds credibility and momentum. The book offers strategies for identifying and prioritising opportunities for these early wins, which can create positive perceptions and foster support from colleagues and superiors.
4. Build Your Team
Forming a strong, cohesive team is vital for long-term success. This involves assessing and developing your team, including evaluating members' strengths and weaknesses, aligning team goals with organisational objectives, and potentially expanding or restructuring your team.
5. Achieve Alignment
Ensuring that strategy, structure, systems, and skills are aligned is crucial for effective leadership. This means making sure that your team's strategy, structure, systems, and skills are aligned not only intrinsically but also with the company's overall strategy.
Beyond the Basics: Where We Need to Dig Deeper
While "The First 90 Days" offers valuable insights, there are areas where it falls short or could benefit from a deeper dive. Let's explore some of these aspects:
The Five Core Operating Systems of Business Performance
To truly excel in your new role, it's crucial to understand and engage with the five core operating systems that drive business performance:
1. Strategic OS: Align your people's roles and activities with your strategy.
2. Culture OS: Build the high-performance culture needed to step-change your business.
3. Leadership OS: Create a business-wide 'playbook' to increase your managers' impact on their people.
4. Capability OS: Develop the capability required to execute your strategy.
5. Performance OS: Enable your people to perform to their potential in their respective roles.
Emotional Intelligence and Soft Skills
While the book focuses primarily on strategic and operational aspects, emotional intelligence and soft skills are critical for senior leaders. Developing these skills can enhance your ability to connect with your team, manage stress, and navigate complex interpersonal dynamics.
Diversity and Inclusion
In today's business environment, fostering diversity and inclusion is essential. As a new leader, you should prioritise understanding and promoting these values within your first 90 days to build more effective and innovative teams.
Mentorship and Support Networks
Establishing mentorship relationships and support networks can provide you with valuable guidance and feedback, especially as you navigate the challenges of a new leadership role. Don't try to be a lone wolf or a superhero trying to solve all problems on your own.
Critical Additions for Your First 90 Days
To truly make the most of your first 90 days, consider these important additions to your strategy:
1. Long-Term Vision and Strategy
While focusing on early wins is important, don't neglect setting a direction for the next 1-3 years. Engage in strategic planning sessions, conduct market analyses, and consider how to future-proof the organisation.
2. Cultural Integration
Go beyond simply learning about the company culture. As a senior leader, you should aim to not only adapt to but also shape the culture. Understand unwritten rules, manage cultural conflicts, and foster inclusivity.
3. Stakeholder Management
Develop a robust framework for stakeholder analysis and management, particularly for external stakeholders such as investors, board members, and industry partners. Learn to manage expectations and communicate effectively with these groups.
4. Personal Branding and Credibility
Establish your personal brand within the new organisation. Leverage past successes, communicate effectively across different media, and use your personal strengths to influence and inspire others.
5. Crisis Management
Be prepared to handle unexpected crises that may arise within your first 90 days. Develop strategies for crisis communication, quick decision-making processes, and maintaining team morale under pressure.
Conclusion
Your first 90 days in a new role are critical for setting the stage for your future success. By combining the strategies outlined in "The First 90 Days" with a deeper focus on long-term vision, cultural integration, stakeholder management, personal branding, and crisis preparedness, you can position yourself for success and make a meaningful impact on your organisation.
Remember, if you find yourself unable to engage meaningfully with these aspects of your role, it might be time to start looking for your next opportunity. Life is too short to spend it in a position where you can't grow, contribute, and thrive.
As you embark on this exciting journey, keep these strategies in mind, stay adaptable, and don't be afraid to make bold moves. Your first 90 days are just the beginning of what could be an incredible chapter in your career. Make them count!
Thanks and acknowledgements
🙏 Thanks and acknowledgements 🌿
This Podcast was produced with passion and love in green Geneva, Switzerland. It is proudly sponsored by Valeris Coaching, and primarily produced and delivered by senior coach Lucas Challamel, as part of his YouTube channel, The Camel Hall.
🔗 Claude-3-Opus, contributed to brainstorming and as a sounding board for some conceptual propositions.
🎥 The video was patiently edited with the free version of CapCut, including sound FX, stickers and automated captions (Such a great feature!)
🎙️ “Drive & Thrive” is a transformative podcast that explores the intricate intersection of ethical leadership and high-performance strategies.
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🏆 High performance, on the other hand, is the ultimate goal for any organisation, regardless of its profit motive. Whether it’s a private corporation, a public service, or a non-profit entity, delivering high-quality products and services is paramount.
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