The first-time CEOs that I’ve coached almost always comment on the stark difference between being around the CEO role and being in it. I remember one CEO, who’d been in the role long enough to find humor in her initial reaction, reflecting that she’d worked on many ELTs, had been preparing for a CEO position for years, and was completely confident she knew what she was getting into; then found herself thoroughly shocked – and shocked by her shock – by what the first 90 days were actually like. There’s no teacher quite like firsthand experience.
While not the same as a CEO position for many reasons, I recently completed my own first 90 days as Vantage’s managing partner. Stepping into the role was the result of a deliberate and thoughtful process that unfolded over several years. Over that time, I had the opportunity to engage with the role from multiple viewpoints, learn from those who held it before me, and participate more directly in shaping the firm’s direction. By the time the transition formally happened, there was strong alignment around the firm’s direction, the demands of the role, and what the future would require.
And still, even with the wisdom from my CEO clients in my back pocket, stepping into the managing partner role carried a level of weight that I could not fully understand in advance.
With my first 90 days behind me, here are a few of my key takeaways from my own firsthand experience, and what they suggest for HR executives supporting transitions to bigger roles in their organizations.
- Making space for curiosity helped balance the weight of decision-making
At the beginning, it was very easy to lean toward execution, particularly as the work is familiar. I’ve worked here for decades, and I’d spent several years preparing for this transition; focusing on delivery and execution felt like an obvious place to spend my time but grounding my leadership in what the firm required right now perhaps mattered more than being quickly decisive.
For some leaders in new roles, taking quick action is required. But taking the time to listen, to orient, and to understand how things connect often leads to more durable decisions and can clarify direction when heavy decisions are needed.
These first 90 days have highlighted the importance of getting and staying curious. This is in many ways connected to my expanded scope and influence. There is more under my purview, and I find myself increasingly curious not just about the work itself, but about how people are experiencing it, how decisions are landing, and what feels clear or unclear.
Creating the space to ask questions, gather candid feedback and then process what I’m learning is core to leadership and it’s not easy, especially when there are expectations to move quickly. But even in a short period, creating room to see more clearly can improve the quality of the decisions that follow.
What this means for HR partners
Setting up a new leader with a 90-day plan and clear deliverables is of course an important part of supporting onboarding. But the disorientation in those first weeks rarely comes from not knowing what to do. More often, it comes from the weight of carrying decisions that used to be someone else’s and the work of making them your own. Ensuring leaders have the support in place to work through this reality and elicit curiosity about it can be as important as a well-structured 90-day plan. For me, this included a coach to help process experiences in real time, a mentor who has carried the same weight and can normalize it, and a trusted peer who can engage with the difficulty of the role honestly, without an agenda. Combining a 90-day plan with these structured supports can accelerate leaders in new roles.
- Navigating the expanded scope and influence of the role required narrowing my focus with intention
Stepping into the role changes how you think about where to spend your time. The scope of where you can involve yourself expands almost immediately, which makes focus more important than access. The questions I was asking myself became less about what needs my attention and more about what is uniquely mine to carry.
Combined with increased access and scope came increased influence and the heightened awareness that my presence in the firm was being seen in a new light. As my colleague and Vantage Founding Partner Carl Robinson often says, “leaders cast long shadows.” Even small signals–a question, a point of interest, a passing comment–can shape how others prioritize and interpret what matters. Being intentional about how I used my words and what I gave my attention to, and then being curious about the impact those choices were having, was and will continue to be a crucial feedback loop.
What this means for HR partners
One of the least visible dynamics in a leadership transition is that the people around a new leader register the shift in influence before the leader does. Direct reports start reading signals and calibrating their behavior accordingly the moment a new leader steps in. HR can help by establishing early feedback mechanisms that give leaders a window into how their presence is landing. This doesn’t need to be formal; a trusted peer who will say “that comment landed harder than you intended” is often more valuable than a structured survey. The goal is to close the gap between the shadow a leader is casting and their awareness of it and do so quickly.
- A strong, supportive culture does a lot of work in smoothing the transition of the first 90 days
The one thing that has grounded me most throughout these first 90 days is the culture of the firm. In moments where the role felt very new or the weight of decisions very heavy, the consistency of our relationships and the level of trust across the partnership provided stability. There is a shared understanding of how we work together and how we approach our clients, and that does not need to be rebuilt in a transition.
While our culture will always evolve and shift, the core tenets of respect, mutual camaraderie, generosity and care, and our deep commitment to our craft meant I was able to step in with curiosity and authenticity immediately. The team was ready to lean in with me, engage openly, and navigate ambiguity together rather than individually. The strength of our culture carries us through moments of change, and it laid the groundwork for me to operate at a higher level immediately.
What this means for HR partners
A strong culture is an asset in a leadership transition, but it isn’t self-maintaining. Culture requires active stewardship. In the lead-up to a transition, HR’s role is to make the implicit explicit: name the cultural norms that are working, help the incoming leader understand them quickly, and create early moments where those norms are visibly reinforced. This might look like structured conversations between the incoming leader and key stakeholders about how the team works best, or deliberate onboarding touchpoints designed not just around strategy and operations but around culture and relationships. A leader who understands the culture they’re stepping into, and who signals early that they intend to honor and build on it, earns trust faster and spends less of their first 90 days rebuilding what already existed.
Stepping into any new role will likely bring moments of disconnect between expectations and reality. You can prepare for the transition, build familiarity with the role, and even help shape it over time. But there is a difference between being close to it and carrying it. Once that shift happens, the decisions land differently, your presence shapes things in ways you need to stay conscious of, and you find out whether the culture is strong enough to hold you. The best time to address all of that is long before the transition happens. Build the culture before it’s needed and make sure a new leader does not need to carry the weight of the role alone.