8 STEPS to onboarding success in the first 100 days – or is it 6 months?
Whether a new executive gets off to a strong start in their first few months of their new role, or whether they stumble into common pitfalls, will have a major impact on them and the early impressions that are formed in the minds of their boss, team, and peers etc.
Consider this:
In their 2017 article Onboarding Isn’t Enough [link below] HBR cites research from a survey carried out globally with 588 senior executives, who had recently transitioned into new roles. They discovered that organisational culture and politics were the primary reasons for failure [in the role], not lack of competences or leadership skill.
Almost 70% of respondents pointed to a lack of understanding about the organisation’s norms and practices, with poor cultural fit coming close behind. See below:
When asked what would reduce the failure rates in their view, they stated the following:
Provide early and frequent constructive feedback – on anything noticed by boss or peers.
We would agree with this – after all culture, what it is and what it looks like in the organisation, is seldom written in the onboarding handbook or on the intranet, so one tends to trip over it!
Values etc. might be written down, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be congruent to the behaviours that are observed and seem to be accepted.
Other suggestions were:
Provide assistance with navigating internal networks
Provide insights into the organisational and team dynamics that exist [culture]
Facilitate alignment between the new leaders and their teams
There’s probably a lot more research out there that will either confirm or deny the HBR authors’ findings. But one thing is for sure, how well an executive notices these [and other things], acts upon their findings, and navigates this time, can have a direct impact on their ability to get things done with and through people, down the track.
Doing some preparation ahead of, and during, your first few weeks and months will assist.
PHQ's View:
In over a decade of working to place new executives and then coaching others post commencement, I’ve come to realise that the first 100 days isn’t really enough to see the results you’d expect from yourself or that your boss may expect. Most of the executives we coach into new roles, OR those who hire executives into new roles, would say it takes at least six months to:
settle in;
note all the above;
get to know your team and get into some sort of rhythm happening them;
understand what they’re doing and how they’re doing it;
align expectations with your team and also with your boss, other key stakeholders and customers; and
understand how you’re going to be measured and over what time frame.
It’s exhausting just thinking about it.
That doesn’t mean you won’t see the fruits of some good focused effort early on, but you’re likely to see those fruits a bit later than the first 3 or 4 months. Getting off to a strong start establishes the foundation upon which longer term success can be built.
This time done well, can create momentum, set the scene, and allow you to get into a rhythm that will take you forward.
Done poorly, it squanders a unique opportunity during which new executives are afforded a ‘honeymoon’ period, where their authority and influence stems from their background experience rather than from any accomplishments they make for the new organisation.
The following lays out eight ways you can set yourself up for success from week one.
1. Prepare Yourself During the "Countdown Period"
Before you start your new job, get prepared and do your homework. Read everything you can about the organisation and its key players. Speak to the smartest observers you can to understand the company's competitive positioning, assess its issues and opportunities, as well as evaluate the organisational culture and the quality of the management team. Moving to a new organisation is like stepping into a new extended family - know and expect that it won’t be perfect and if you can, minimise your expectations as far as you can, as to what you should expect
If you'll be relocating, consider moving to the new place of work for a few months alone so you can fully immerse yourself. It’ll also give your partner / family an opportunity to say their goodbyes with friends and schools in their own time. At the same time, get in shape physically and emotionally. Neglecting your health and wellbeing won’t help you, your family when they arrive, or the organisation.
2. Align Expectations
Setting expectations and ensuring mutual understanding is one of the most important things a new leader can do to offset any miscommunication down the track. It is also one of the easiest things to mishandle. A common pitfall is to try to do too much too soon, and / or make bold promises that may not be realistic before you’ve got to know your team’s capabilities and the systems, processes, and resources available.
With your boss:
Work hard to understand what he/she is being measured on and how well the business is going in relation to that. The boss’s pain points when you arrive may or may not be made obvious early on, so good and appropriately timed questioning on this will be important.
In essence, their KPI’s should align with yours and your KPI’s, in turn, should align with your team’s. Sounds logical, but it’s not always explicit, understood or, indeed, easy to achieve.
With your Team:
Use your radar and take time to notice the dynamics in the early weeks:
Do they operate as a collective or do they work in silos – or other?
Do they tend to ‘upward delegate’ / want detailed instruction, or are they self-managing / going about their work? Are some more self-sufficient than others?
Are they busy for busy’s sake, or are they working on things that the stakeholders / customers really need – what is your gut telling you, what are you noticing?
What roadblocks are they having to navigate and what might you need to endeavour to remove so they can?
Where does there seem to be tension between them as a team and / or between them and other teams in the organisation?
What are the niggles you’re hearing, and what might that be due to?
Note: Sometimes tension between different teams can be adversely affected by the relationship strength [or lack of] between the leaders above them. If that could be an issue, what might the implications be for you and your various peers?
Who do you need to build relationships with first and why? Work to build up clarity on this.
What have you picked up as being the reputation of the outgoing leader that you are replacing [if there was one]?
There will be many more questions besides these. Jot down anything you notice in a book and try to resist moving to solutions quickly, and resist taking the team to an offsite before you’ve seen them together in meetings regularly.
In your earliest interactions with your new team and staff, recognise that most will be listening through the lens of their own self-interest i.e.: - "Will this new boss be good or bad for me?". This is a normal response when anticipating your arrival. They will likely not have had anything to do with your hire, so they will be, at best, curious and, at worst, nervous.
It’s especially challenging for them and for you if you’re joining as their leader in the wake of ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and working-from-home arrangements. Think about how you’ll manage this to ensure you get enough ‘face’ time together and individually.
As far as you are concerned, asking yourself the following five questions in the early weeks will help:
Who am I as an executive? - [how do you describe your leadership style, approach, way of working?]
Why am I here in this role? - [what drew you to the role, and why is that important to you?]
Where did I come from? - [your two-minute elevator pitch, which you will have refined from your various interviews, will come in handy here!]
What do I hope to accomplish in this role? - [for yourself, and the organisation? What do you believe the role can offer you and in turn, what are you bringing to it?]
What do you think you’ll need to draw upon? - [from yourself and others, in order to achieve your aspirations?]
3. Shape Your Management Team
Unless you have to ‘clean house’ when taking over a business in regulatory, financial [or other] crisis, it's preferable to act deliberately in building your management team. Be aware that the oft called "good" people will feel like they must prove themselves all over again to someone new and there will be stress for them in doing this. Additionally, those that may be on the bubble (if any) should get a brand-new chance.
Before you check with your Boss and/or HR to seek out their respective views of your team members [important to do], ask each of your team members directly how they view their own progress in their respective role based on self-knowledge, feedback received, and formal performance reviews.
Something like:
As we’re getting to know each other:
Tell me how the last year or so has gone for you personally/your team/your part of the business
What have been the high and low points from your perspective and what do you put that down to?
What are the possibilities for increased effectiveness in your area/the department in your view? What would you need [resources, training etc] to achieve that? Why do you think it hasn’t happened to date?
If Jo Bloggs [your Boss] heard your thoughts, what do you think she/he might say? [ask this one with some humour attached 😊]
- How would you describe the dynamics between the team right now? What needs to shift and what’s working well?
Be curious – listen to each person’s responses. Check in on what they’re not saying, and also what you’re sensing. What are they showing through their body language, their eye contact, their level of comfort/discomfort – what are you noticing?
Try and suspend judgement, or interpretation, just notice.
Also, what level of accountability for their personal circumstances are they taking compared to putting the responsibility elsewhere?
There’s a lot here – take out of these questions what might work for you and evolve your own questioning over time. The most important thing is to ask a lot of questions and give a little of yourself along the way. On the subject of personal accountability and only when it feels right, ask each team member individually how happy they were with their last performance review – did they think it was fair/reasonable? If not, ask them why. Seek to understand if they’re accessing appropriate development opportunities etc.
Irrespective of the level at which you go in to a new role, finding a way of critically assessing the talent around you over time, is key for you to understand how the will and the skill of the team you have now, might assist, or not, into the future.
Being somewhat circumspect and not quick to jump or act will also show people that you won't be rash or play favourites.
And you may be surprised – you may find that some of the team who had been labelled as underperformers, may actually thrive in the new environment that you establish and you may find the reverse is true.
Ultimately, the team needs to reflect your values, buy into yours [again over time] and the organisation’s vision, and have complementary skills so that the whole has a chance of exceeding the sum of its parts.
4. Craft Your Strategic Agenda
Many people think that they have to deliver a detailed strategic plan at the end of the first 100 days. Try not to fall into this trap and resist requests for the same. If you do have to produce something, do so with the team’s involvement and with caveats! Otherwise your plan will very likely change and, worst case, might be entirely wrong.
Even if it's right, it may lack the necessary buy-in and therefore be difficult to implement as you’ll have not had the opportunity to fully engage and consult with the stakeholders it will affect.
The opportunity exists, rather, to develop a strategic "agenda" that puts enough structure around the obvious issues, opportunities, priorities, and some initial actions to get the business moving in the right direction. It will also afford you and the team the right to flex and shift as is required in the VUCA world anyway!
Manage your Boss around this! Don't underestimate the pressure that will be put on you, both from within the organisation and from outside, to deliver such a plan. If you have been given a view of the organisation’s plan currently in place, work closely with your CEO/Boss to get from her/him exactly what their expectations are from you in these first 100 days, and start negotiating/influencing right from the start, to expand that time frame. If they were involved in your interview, you will have ideally developed/begun to develop a good understanding of each other.
Back to the Team:
5. Assess and Start Transforming the Culture of your Team
We are Team Coaches at PHQ, so as we pause at point 5, you can see our 8 Tips have a strong emphasis on culture and team. That’s because nothing of any note is ever done by one executive alone and a Leader is responsible for the success of their people – inherited or not.
So as a new leader, taking stock of this and the next item, Culture of the Team is best started at the outset.
Most people know, organisational culture [or departmental subcultures] is one of the most intransigent things to change. So, don't try to transform it in the first 100 days! As above, take your time to assess the culture, and begin any necessary change process slowly.
The way to start assessing a culture [in and beyond your team] is to listen to how people describe the organisation, bearing in mind that within most generalisations lies an inner core of truth. Ask probing questions relentlessly, not only among the most senior people, but to customers and other stakeholders deemed critical to the success of your business. Meet not only your largest customers/stakeholders but also the smartest ones! You can be sure that they will give you feedback.
Make like a Silent Witness forensic pathologist searching for clues among the language people use and through physical evidence, such as office layout, dress code, the coffee/cafe culture, and in today’s world, people’s online behaviour:
Online Behavioural Norms:
One of the key differences we’re noticing when working with teams subsequent to Covid-19 and work-from-home environments, is how people show up for ‘Zoom’ and ‘Teams’ meetings, for example:
Is it ok to eat breakfast whilst on the morning meeting?
Do people routinely go on mute or turn off their camera?
What does that say to you in direct proportion to other cultural norms?
Do people talk over each other or do some sit passively whilst allowing others to talk?
All of this is data is for you to synthesise.
Once you finish your assessment, and to the degree you’re able, you can start experimenting with measures of success, incentive systems, and operating structures and norms to find productive ways to get traction on the desired behaviours you and the team believe are required to be at their most effective.
6. Establish a Productive Working Relationship with Your Board or Boss
Whether you report to a board or to a boss, the best place to start establishing a productive relationship is to understand their motivations. This includes the straightforward goals of building shareholder value and achieving strategic, financial, and organisational objectives. Seek to understand the drive for Board members to retain and keep their status, their standing in their community and, indeed, their Board fee!
The savvy leader is also sensitive to the unstated motivations such as directors' concerns with minimising their professional liability, maintaining their hard-earned reputations, and managing their busy calendars. In the case of bosses, their greatest desire is generally to receive high-quality advice and loyalty, such that their own careers are enhanced.
7. Establish Productive Working Relationships with Your Peers
If you’re not coming in as the CEO, you’ll be the new colleague on the block around the Executive Team or the like.
Ask yourself what kind of colleague relationships you’ve enjoyed in the past and what kind of colleague you want/need to be in this new role.
As with your team, observe a lot in your LT meetings and at the same time, be prepared to offer up a good question and / view if you feel appropriate, then notice how that is received. Also notice who asks you for a coffee or a separate meeting and who is a little more distant. Work hard to be neutral but ensure they get why you’re there and what you’re bringing to the table.
Again, it’s all data. Being a good Peer is probably a whole article in itself, but some of the questions suggested for your new direct report team can be adapted for your peers.
8. Communicate!
Effective communication skills are the key to implementing just about everything, not only during the first 100 days or 6 months, but throughout your career. Unless you can communicate your vision and approach in a way that inspires others, your work to align expectations, shape your management team, craft your strategic agenda, and enhance the company's culture will not move forward as you might like. You will have negated a key opportunity for your own career as well as, arguably, the organisation's readiness for change.
Successful communication starts with knowing your audience and establishing an emotional connection to your message. Remember that you’ll be repeating your message over and over again until it sinks in.
To that end, one of the ideas we share regularly with our clients is this:
Tell them what you’re going to tell them, then
Tell them, then
Tell them what you’ve told them
If you find yourself in a crisis, get the information out immediately and acknowledge the real challenges of the situation. Ask for help and insights as to how you may go about solving the issue – this is where peer relationships come in. Make sure not to come across as a know-it-all, which would turn people off and shut you down.
In conclusion
In conclusion, new leaders' actions, both good and bad, create a ripple effect across organisations.
If you apply some of these ideas and others you generate yourself, you’ll create space for some strong momentum in the first six months and beyond and some space for your reflection also.
Not a bad idea!
About the author
Jacqui Ferris is a highly respected Executive Coach, Facilitator and Presenter who has coached and advised leaders in internal organisational roles and as an external coach, since 2003.
She is the Managing Director of PHQ and designs and delivers tailored one-on-one, team coaching and leadership development programs for executives and Board directors.