Taking on a new leadership role is one of the most challenging career transitions you’ll face.
Your first 90 days will largely determine your long-term success, regardless of whether you’re stepping up from within or joining as an external hire.
7 Steps To Success
Whether you’re an internal promotion or external hire, 7 fundamental areas deserve your immediate attention:
1. Manage expectations
Set realistic timelines for major initiatives and communicate them clearly. The gap between stakeholder expectations and what you can deliver in your first months can make or break your tenure.
2. Build right relationships
Map out key stakeholders early and schedule one-on-ones to understand their perspectives. Leadership is fundamentally about relationships.
3. Diagnose the situation
Go beyond surface briefings to understand underlying dynamics, informal power structures, and historical context. What are the unspoken rules and hidden obstacles?
4. Establish clear goals
Work with your manager and team to establish 3-5 achievable objectives for your first six months that build momentum and credibility.
5. Prepare climate for change
Create psychological safety for innovation by modeling openness, celebrating intelligent failures, and valuing diverse perspectives.
6. Initiate changes (slowly)
Start with small, visible improvements that demonstrate progress without threatening stability. Focus on removing obstacles rather than adding burdens.
7. Using rituals, symbols, and team bonding
Be intentional about the meetings you attend, traditions you maintain or change, and behaviors you model. These often speak louder than words.
The Internal Promotion Challenge
When promoted from within, you face a unique paradox: employees expect “everything stays just as it is” while your manager expects you to “assert yourself.”
Key strategies:
- Navigate relationship shifts carefully: Your former peers are now direct reports requiring clear boundary setting
- Avoid the knowledge trap: Your deep organizational knowledge can become a liability if it stops you from asking questions
- Question everything systematically: “Help me understand why we do this process this way” opens doors to new insights
- Use external advisors: Get fresh perspectives to challenge assumptions you might miss
- Signal change clearly: Restructure meetings, change agendas, implement new processes that demonstrate leadership
- Empower your team: Give employees new responsibilities to establish your strategic focus
- Focus on daily operations: Set clear priorities in routine processes for consistent impact
The External Hire Challenge
As an external hire, you’re entering an established ecosystem where initial skepticism is natural.
Key strategies:
- Expect resistance: Anticipate skepticism from team members concerned about job security or change
- Prioritize relationships: Invest time getting to know people as individuals, not just professional roles
- Ask the right questions: “What do I need to know so I can succeed?” invites crucial insights while showing respect for existing expertise
- Avoid the savior complex: Don’t take on too many goals or allow positioning as the “knight in shining armor”
- Stay connected: Don’t isolate your department from the broader organization
- Think marathon, not sprint: Moving too quickly often backfires and creates resistance
- Value internal resources: Actively seek existing expertise to show respect for current talent
Your Path Forward
Successful leadership transitions require patience, humility, and strategic thinking. Whether internal or external, focus first on understanding, then on building relationships and trust, and only then on implementing meaningful change.
Your path will look different depending on your starting point, but the destination remains the same: becoming an effective leader who drives positive outcomes for the organization and its people.
If you need help charting the path, let me know, that’s what my manager coaching is all about!
