I’m re-reading The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins because an updated and expanded version came out recently. It’s full of great info for managing the transition into a new role especially, but a lot of the recommendations are good ideas for leadership in general.
The book makes clear that one of the initial and most important tasks for anyone in a new role is diagnosing the situation in order to determine what the course of action needs to be. And here’s the big takeaway – different types of situations require different responses. For leaders, one size does not fit all.
This isn’t a new concept and actually makes me think of situational leadership theory and the work of Hersey and Blanchard. But The First 90 Days is really useful because of the focus on the transition into a new role.
It introduces the STARS model of common business situations leaders in new roles may find themselves in (start-up, turnaround, accelerated growth, realignment, sustaining success) and offers guidance on appropriate actions given the particular situation. And upon diagnosis, a leader may discover their responsibilities include a variety of business situations, requiring a variety of approaches. Again, one size does not fit all.
I’ll close with some wisdom from the book on personal development: “Don’t restrict your focus to hard skills. The higher you rise, the more important the key soft skills of cultural and political diagnosis, negotiation, coalition building, and conflict management will become.”
Would love to hear your thoughts on leadership transitions.