Whether you have experience in leadership or not, transitioning to a new leadership position can be difficult. If you are promoted to a management role in your current company, you are probably going to be overseeing employees that were once your equals. If you are joining a new company, you are going to be managing a team of people with whom you have never worked. Both of these scenarios present their own set of challenges, and you should be prepared to face those challenges right from the start.
In leadership, first impressions are vital. A successful leader exudes confidence and manages with consistency, and this begins on day one. According to Michael Watkins, in his book The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels, the first three months on the job determine a leader’s success. Whether you’re about to move into a management role or think you may someday want to, this book is a great guide for how to make the transition seamlessly and successfully.
Here’s a summary from Amazon Books:
“Fully a quarter of all managers in major corporations enter new leadership roles each year. Whether their assignments involve leading a work group or taking over a company as CEO, they face very similar challenges – and risks – in those critical first months on the job. How new leaders manage their transitions can make all the difference between success and failure.
“In this hands-on guide, Michael Watkins, a noted expert on leadership transitions, offers proven strategies for moving successfully into a new role at any point in one's career. Concise and practical, The First 90 Days walks managers through every aspect of the transition, from mental preparation to forging the right alliances to securing critical early wins. Through vivid examples of success and failure at all levels, Watkins identifies the most common pitfalls new leaders encounter and provides tools and strategies for how to avoid them.”
