You Just Became a Sr. Leader; Now What? (Also, for the tenured leaders out there as well)
You got the promotion, the title changed, and you finally cashed in those "chips" of hard work, sweat equity, and a round of interviews. Now, those whom you used to work with as peers are now in your care as their people leader.
Congratulations is the easy part, my friends!
Here's what I want to share with you about today: what your first 90 days should actually look like, what people leaders need to prioritize in that window, and how to build the kind of relationship equity that will carry you for years, not just weeks.
The Instinct You Need to Resist
When you step into a senior leadership role, there is a pull to prove yourself fast. You want to show the org you deserved the seat.
That instinct will wreck your first 90 days if you let it.
The biggest mistake I see first-time senior leaders make is trying to change everything right out of the gate.
New processes.
New priorities.
New language.
New meetings.
It will feel like you are being productive and adding tons of value to the people, but to the people it will feel like a complete stranger walked into their house and said, "Oh, this has to be redone..."
You don't have the context yet; you don't know why things are the way they are. You don't know who's been quietly holding a team together, and you don't know what battles have already been fought and lost before you arrived.
Changing things before you understand them isn't leadership; It's guessing.
What the First 90 Days Should Actually Look Like.
Think of your first 90 days in three phases.
Days 1 to 30: Observe and Listen
Meet with every person on your team one-on-one.
A "tell me about your experience here" meeting.
Ask what's working.
Ask what's frustrating.
Ask what they'd change if they were in your seat.
Then just listen and don't defend the org.
Don't explain why things are the way they are. Don't judge what you hear, even when it's messy or contradicts what you were told before you started.
Days 31 to 60: Understand the Why
Now you start connecting dots. You've heard patterns across your conversations. You start to understand why certain decisions were made, why certain processes exist, why certain people are guarded, and others are open.
This is also where you start to understand the emotional landscape of your team.
Who feels seen.
Who feels overlooked.
Who's been carrying more than their share.
Who's coasting because nobody ever asked more of them.
You're still not making big changes here. You're testing your understanding. You might float an idea in conversation and see how it lands, not to implement it, but to learn.
Days 61 to 90: Make Your First Moves, Carefully
By now you have earned enough context to act. But even here, start small. Pick one or two things that will build trust and show you were actually listening in those first 60 days. Fix something that's been a real pain point for your team, something they mentioned more than once. That single act does more for your credibility than any big strategic announcement.
Building Relationship Equity.
Relationship equity is the thing that will determine whether people follow you because they have to, or because they want to.
You build it in small, consistent ways.
Show up prepared for your one-on-ones. If someone tells you something matters to them, remember it and follow up on it later. That follow-up is where trust actually gets built. People notice when a leader remembers.
Give credit loudly and take blame quietly. When something goes well, name the people who made it happen. When something goes wrong, own your part of it before you look for who else played a role.
Be honest about what you don't know yet. New senior leaders often think they need to have all the answers. Your team doesn't expect you to know everything on day one. They expect you to be honest, curious, and willing to learn from them. That honesty builds more equity than false confidence ever will.
And don't skip the informal stuff. Grab coffee. Ask about their weekend and actually remember the answer.
The Mistakes First-Time Sr. Leaders Make.
I've watched this play out enough times, and in myself too, to see the pattern clearly.
Leading with judgment instead of curiosity. Walking into a team and silently (or not so silently) deciding what's broken before you understand why it exists. People can feel judgment even when you don't say it out loud, and it closes them off fast.
Mistaking activity for impact. Sending a lot of emails, calling a lot of meetings, launching a lot of initiatives in the first month. It looks like leadership from the outside. Inside, your team is exhausted and confused about what actually matters.
Trying to be liked instead of trusted. These are not the same thing. Chasing approval leads to avoiding hard conversations, which erodes trust over time even if it feels good in the moment.
Not protecting your team's time and energy. New leaders often say yes to everything above them without checking what it costs the people below them. Your job is to be a filter, not a funnel.
Skipping the observation phase entirely. This is the one that connects to everything above. Leaders who skip straight to action miss the context that would have made their action right. Slow down at the start so you can move fast later, with the trust and understanding to back it up.
What you should walk away with today.
Understand that the fundamental law of leadership is to be a servant to those in your care. Always think about being a people leader as such, being responsible for those in your care. Understand that you, as their people leader, will have an influence in their lives and be willing to put your ego aside so you can fully be present with your people and allow your people to be present with you.