Three Things You Must Do Immediately As a New Leader

You have 30 days to show your team what you’ve got

Melissa Daimler
Forge

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Credit: Milkos/Getty Images

II often tell my executive-coaching clients that the first 30 days in a new role are the most critical. That’s the amount of time you have to show your team, your manager, and your colleagues what you’ve got as a leader.

Unfortunately, those first 30 days are already overwhelming. Your calendar is packed with meetings with all of your stakeholders — up, down, across, and all around you. You want to spend more time with your team, but you’re being pulled into strategy sessions with your manager and the executives. Everything shared with you is framed as needing urgent attention, and you may not yet know which tasks are truly critical and which ones can wait a couple of weeks to address. You’re excited about this new gig, but the pace is ruthless. You spend Saturday catching up on some sleep, then get back to it on Sunday morning.

Having worked with hundreds of new leaders in my career, I’ve seen this scenario again and again. Newly promoted leaders experience the pressure, too, even if they have been part of the company for many years. Some anxiety is an inevitable part of every new transition. But I’ve found there are strategies to help you move through the “new leader stage” so that you establish yourself as impactful…

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