The first 90 days
There are two pieces of advice that stuck with me over the course of my career:
- Figure out how to automate yourself out of a job.
- Apply an established pattern when taking on a new role.
The first bit may seem counterintuitive, but doing this provides two benefits. First, very few knowledge workers enjoy performing tedious or menial tasks, and these tasks are typically the easiest to automate. Second, there are two common ways to handle the transition into a new role: either train someone else to take over the existing job responsibilities, or determine the job is no longer necessary. In the information era, it’s often easier to justify spending resources on automation projects than it is to justify additional headcount for an organization. Plus, automation usually improves team efficiency; win, win!
When applying this tactic in practice, having a reliable egress plan in place is essential. A close friend introduced me to a simple pattern everyone should use when starting a new role: talk to people!
This is so simple, and yet very few people seem to take full advantage of the technique [1]. The framework below demonstrates how to apply this idea, and how to get the most out of it. Most people receive a grace period of about three months when starting out. After this time, our peers tend to become impatient. This framework is built on that assumption, and the time scales defined may be tailored for each circumstance accordingly.
Make Connections
As a social species, we are hardwired for connection. As such, the only way for us to succeed individually is to also succeed as a group [2]. Developing meaningful relationships and building trust with our peers is a critical step in this process. Schedule individual conversations with the people you will be working with. Make sure to meet with anyone who will have an influence on your team or project. Avoid setting an agenda, and allow the discussion to unfold naturally. The ultimate goal is to get to know your peers.
Use this process to discover answers for the following questions: what motivates each person? What do they care about? What’s their favorite part of the job? How do they think you might fit into the organization? What would they like to see from you? What aspects of their work experience could be improved?
The end result of these trust-building exercises will help you create an environment where people will approach you if they have a problem. They will tell you in advance when something isn’t working, or even when they have a new idea to try!
Allocate Time
Dedicate time to prepare for the new role. Attempting to consume the wide-open firehose of new information is a universal experience all knowledge workers must navigate as they absorb a new role. Adopting a proactive approach by having answers to a few questions ahead of time will yield exceptional results!
Ask these questions as you prepare for your new role: How will I capture actions and requests so I don’t lose them? How will I remember to follow-up on items in an appropriate timely manner? How will I decide whether to commit to something early on? What boundaries will I need to set early to ensure my success? Who do I need to speak with first? Who makes decisions for the team? Who will I need to learn from in order to be successful in this role?
As you figure out who you will need to speak with, remember to focus on anyone who is responsible for making decisions that will impact or influence you and your team. Prioritize meeting with your entire immediate team and direct reports within the first week. For large teams, make sure to meet with everyone individually within the first two weeks. Establishing a clear path before starting will help with managing the inevitable chaos that ensues in the immediate months after joining a new team.
The first 90 days
You’ve prepared; you’re ready to take on anything!
The 90-day framework will help you execute your mission as you navigate the turbulence ahead. The dartboard approach provides a method for prioritizing where to spend effort during this critical time window. Draw three concentric circles with increasing sizes. The center “bull’s eye” represents you and your team. The next circle represents your direct influences: contacts, peers, and advocates who’s actions make a direct impact on you and your team. The outer circle represents your indirect influences: the people who’s actions cause indirect effects on you. See Figure 1 as a demonstration of this concept.
Assume you begin with a team of seven people, and each person will recommend three other people. With this method, you will connect with 280 people over the course of three months! Allocating 30 minutes for each discussion, it will take 14 weeks (or 98 days) to complete this process with an average of 20 meetings per week or two hours per day. This will naturally build your network fast with exponential growth, and it will help you figure out who you need to forge meaningful sustainable relationships with.
In my experience, the actual number of connections is closer to 100 people. Recommendations are often duplicated, and team collaboration requirements for most jobs are usually intentionally constrained to avoid the inherent administrative overhead caused by the growth of communication channels [2]. However, the two hours per day estimated time commitment remains valid since there will be repeated conversations with select individuals. Furthermore, you may find some conversations require more than 30 minutes to achieve the desired result. Figure 2 illustrates a realistic rendering of how this approach might unfold. The key is to make sure you have a rigorous process in place to handle the flood of new information!
A structured plan
Table 1 demonstrates how this framework might be used in practice. It provides a basic example which can be modified according to the needs of a specific onboarding process.
| Date | Timeframe | Interactions | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|
| [TBD] | Day 0 | Team introductions | Announcement of new role |
| – | Days 1-14 (1st two weeks) |
Meet separately with: • all direct reports, and • immediate team members (i.e. form a new team) |
Learn who to speak with next. |
| – | Days 1-30 (1st month) |
Meet with direct peers and project leaders | Begin to understand the aspects of the role. |
| – | Days 30-60 (1st two months) |
• Meet with project stakeholders • Build a network of contacts and relationships with related departments and technical leaders. |
Begin to understand the needs of the team. |
| – | Days 60-90 (1st three months) |
• Continue building a network of contacts and relationships with related departments and technical leaders • Meet with indirect influences |
• Begin to understand the established processes and work streams. • Accept additional responsibilities as the scope of work becomes clear. • Contribute to the team objectives. |
| – | Day 90 | ONBOARDING COMPLETE! | Demonstrate competency in your new role, and reflect on how far you’ve come! |
Works cited
- R. Cross, et. al., “How to Succeed Quickly in a New Role,” Harvard Business Review, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://hbr.org/2021/11/how-to-succeed-quickly-in-a-new-role.
- A. McAfee, The Geek Way: The Radical Mindset that Drives Extraordinary Results, Little, Brown and Company, 2023.