Four Lessons Every New Leader Must Know For Their First 90 Days

Michael Watkins, author of the leadership book The First 90 Days, shares guidelines all new leaders need to know

When you step into a new leadership role, how you start often determines whether you succeed or fail. Whether you’re leading a small team, a department or a whole organization, starting well is crucial to earning and maintaining your team’s trust and respect.

Michael Watkins, leadership professor and bestselling author, knows this as well as anyone. He wrote what has become the leadership transitions bible, The First 90 Days, which shares strategies and tactics for stepping into a new leadership role by nailing your first three months on the job.

Recently, I had the pleasure of hosting Michael on the Elevate Podcast, where we dove deep into The First 90 Days and discussed how new leaders can start on the right foot. Michael focused on four crucial lessons all leaders need to know, whether they’re making a transition themselves or coaching someone into a new role.

Prioritize Learning and Listening

One of the worst things a new leader can do is walk into a situation believing they already know everything. Even the smartest leaders always have things to learn, and entering a leadership role with openness to learning and feedback is key to winning over your new team.

To that point, Michael urges new leaders to spend at least half of their first 90 days meeting with their team—collectively and one-on-one—listening and learning without rushing to judgement or action. You can’t make the right changes when you don’t know what’s currently effective, and what’s not working, and you won’t get these insights without building rapport and trust with your team first so they’ll feel safe to tell you the truth.

Even if you have a firm idea of what you want to change right off the bat, commit to about six weeks of a listening tour—it’ll go a long way toward showing your team that you’re open to learning and having your mind changed.