Leadership LibraryOctober 13, 2026
A New Executive's First 90 Days Belong To The Whole Team
Originally published on Forbes. When a new executive arrives, the whole team changes. Here’s why the first 90 days should focus on the team’s shared agreements, not just the new leader.
When a new executive joins an organization, most of the onboarding attention goes to one person: the new leader. They get the briefings, the stakeholder meetings, and the 90-day plan. But a leadership transition doesn’t just add someone to the team. It changes the team.
Reporting lines shift. Unspoken norms get tested. Relationships that worked under the previous leader have to be renegotiated. When organizations treat assimilation as an individual exercise, the team is left to work through those changes on its own, and that is where many transitions quietly stall.
In my latest Forbes Business Council article, I make the case for treating a new executive’s first 90 days as a whole-team process. I explore why the team shifts as a system when a leader arrives, how to turn early insights into shared operating agreements, and how to tell whether the transition is actually taking hold.
If you’re bringing in a new executive, or you’ve just stepped into a new role yourself, this is a practical starting point for making the first 90 days count for everyone.
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Bringing in a new executive?
Let’s talk about how to make the first 90 days work for the whole team. In a 30-minute conversation, we’ll look at where your transition stands and what would help it take shape.