Course of Action (What to do)

Let’s recap:

You wanted to make a career move from worker bee to leadership. So, you did what I always advise my clients in that situation to do, right? You applied for the position you wanted, even though you didn’t meet all the requirements. (Seriously—nobody ever meets all the requirements; you’ve just got to apply for what you want.) But I digress! A few weeks later, you nailed the interview and got the job. Congratulations, Sis! I knew you could do it. Now, I hope you’ve had a chance to celebrate your win with some fabulosity like champagne with your girls because … Ummm ... now there’s work to be done to prepare for your new role.

Helllllooo, have we met?! You know I’m talking strategy, right? Just like in the reality TV show 90-Day Fiancé, your first three months in a new leadership role can set you up for success or failure. As I worked my way up the ladder in corporate America, I developed a simple four-ingredient recipe for seamlessly entering a new role, and I’m sharing it with you today.

Below are the first things I recommend you do when you start a new leadership role. (You can thank me for this recipe later!)

1)    Read the book: The First 90 Days.

When I first made the transition to a corporate VP role, I read the book The First 90 Days. It’s an oldie but goodie, and I’ve been recommending it ever since to my clients who are stepping into new leadership positions. Author Michael D. Watkins, an expert on leadership transitions, shares proven strategies for conquering the challenges of taking on a new culture. Do not skip this step. It’s a key ingredient of my recipe.

2)    Align with your manager.

Whenever I entered a new leadership role, I liked to find out what being successful in my role looked like from my manager’s perspective. I asked point blankly, “Fast forward 90 days from now, what would you like to see me accomplish? How will we know if these things have been accomplished? What metrics will we use to report out?” When you do this, you learn what your manager’s expectations are, which might vary from the job description.

In addition to asking for my manager's expectations, I also liked to share up front what I hoped to do over the first 60 to 90 days. The point of sharing my plan was to make sure that my manager was in alignment with what I would be setting out to do. If my vision wasn’t in sync with theirs, it gave me a chance to course correct early on.

I also took the time to discern when and how often my new boss wanted updates or reports. Were they the type who wanted to meet one-on-one weekly? In person? Virtually? Over the phone? Or would an emailed status update suffice?

You don’t want to waste time working on things you think you should be working on only to find out later they’re not at all what the larger team, or worse, your boss, thinks is important. Get in alignment then get to work. Now is the time to ask these questions while you are basking in the Newbie Glow. That glow does not last for long, trust me.

3)    Set up one-on-ones with upper management and lateral peers.

Whenever I moved into a new leadership position, I also tried to set up meetings with all the department heads at the highest level that I would be interacting with.

The goal was to ask them, “What do you see as being important for this role that I'm taking on as it relates to you and your team or you and your functionalities? What accomplishments are you most proud of having made on behalf of the company?” (Nothing sets you up for failure faster than not knowing who established the initiatives you may be responsible for undoing.)

I booked the meetings in a hierarchical way. I started with all the top people that my team was going to be engaging with, followed by lateral peers. Your primary task in these meetings? To listen waaay more than you talk.

You can schedule a Zoom call, a coffee break, or just have a meeting in their office. But make sure you set up those one-on-ones and learn how you can best collaborate with your colleagues for the company’s success. Yes, your head may be spinning after 16 meetings. But take copious notes along with some Advil, and you’ll be all right. Successful teams never work in a silo, and that’s why this step is important.

4)    Give your team a blueprint on how they can best work with you.

I always gave my direct reports what I like to call a “How to Manage Your Manager” one-sheeter. Yes, I wrote out how best to work with me! Don’t hate. It’s incredibly helpful for all parties involved. For example, I did not like when direct reports brought me problems. So, included on the one-sheet directive was to not bring me problems, rather bring me solutions, and tell me what the problem was that it was attempting to solve and why it needed solving.

I’m a visual person so I respond better to documents and tangible reports than I do to long verbal updates or meetings. You really want to grab my attention? “Make it pretty for me, and give me something to edit, review or revise. It works like magic to move me into action”, directed my one-page document.

I also set boundaries with my team: Don't greet me first thing in the morning with an issue. Let me take my coat off, sit down at my desk and turn on my computer for at least 15 minutes before barging in with the fact that we’re over budget. I also don’t like surprises. So if you are not going to meet a deadline, I want to hear that from you before the deadline is missed or before I ask you where the project is.

Some Black women are wary of setting boundaries up front, either for fear of being thought of as “tough” or because we secretly think we don’t have the right to or aren’t deserving of setting parameters around what works best for us. But colleagues and direct reports alike appreciate knowing what your boundaries are. And they also can’t claim ignorance of them later on.

Sharing the one sheeter (not a 100-page manual, ladies) on how best to work with you is an important component of ensuring you and your team operate like a well-oiled machine. How would they know how best to interact with you if you don’t tell them? Be clear about your expectations, and if you need help building your own “Manage Your Manager,” Forbes has a whole guide on it.

That’s it. My simple recipe for a successful transition. These four activities can help you master the first 90 days and come off looking like a seasoned leader, despite any internal jitters you may be feeling.

Now hit the ground running Sis. You got this!