Joining a senior team as the new leader can be a defining moment. The temptation is to act fast. To prove yourself. But senior teams don’t change overnight. Relationships take time. Trust isn’t built in a few weeks. Culture doesn’t shift because of a speech. The real work happens in the moments in between – the side conversations, the small decisions, the consistency of your actions over time.
Your first 90 days set the tone. It’s about how you go about getting a sense of your new team; their styles, expectations and ambitions. Get it right, and you build trust, credibility, and momentum. Get it wrong, and you spend years trying to recover.
I get it. It’s tempting to jump in with solutions. You want to prove yourself and show them why you were appointed. But the shrewdest leaders resist that urge. Instead, they go out of their way to understand the team, the culture, and the unspoken rules that shape decision-making.
Having worked with many senior leaders over 30+ years, here are my observations.
In the first place forget the org chart. It tells you who reports to you, but tells you nothing about the real power dynamics. Who has influence in the team? Some people have far more sway than their title suggests. Others speak often but carry little weight. Watch. Listen. Who does your team defer to? Who shapes decisions behind closed doors? Who has the quiet influence that no one mentions?
One of your team could have been an unsuccessful candidate for your job
Every senior team has a shared history. The wins they’re proud of. The failures they don’t talk about. Look out for the unspoken rules about what’s rewarded and what gets shut down. Pay attention to the language. Phrases like “That’s not how we do things here” or “We tried that before” tell you where the landmines are buried. How do people talk about the past will give you a sense of their eagerness and curiosity about their new chapter with you at the helm.
Understanding how decisions really get made will also save you a lot of frustration. Officially, decisions may be made in meetings. In reality, many are made in the conversations before and after. Ideas and proposals get socialised over coffee and lunch. If you only pay attention to what happens in the room, you’re missing half the picture. Notice who talks to whom before a big decision. Who has the final say? Who never speaks up but later derails things?
Chances are your team is full of intelligent, ambitious people. But that doesn’t mean they’re immune to worries, concerns and fears. Some worry about losing relevance. Others fear change will expose their weaknesses. All of them will be thinking about what direction you want to take them in. If you push too hard, too fast, those fears turn into resistance. And remember, one of your team could have been an unsuccessful candidate for your job and they will have ideas of their own about priorities. Your job is to surface what nobody is talking about publicly, not ignore it. Create spaces where people feel safe enough to be honest. Then you can work with reality, not against it. Your team may have looked at your LinkedIn profile, but they will still have loads of questions on their mind about you and how you operate.
As the new leader, people watch your every move. They read into your words, your tone, your decisions and interpret
I have found a facilitated new leader assimilation process quickly answers all their questions. It’s a quick, non-threatening, way to get answers to important (perhaps yet unspoken) questions and to openly address concerns the team may have. It provides an easy way for validating information, correcting underlying assumptions, and expanding on accurate information that needs elaborating with the team.
The signals you send are also critical. As the new leader, people watch your every move. They read into your words, your tone, your decisions and interpret. A passing comment can be taken as a policy shift. A glance at your phone in a meeting can be seen as disengagement. You may not feel like you’re doing anything dramatic, but they’re looking for clues about what you expect and what you value. Be intentional. Every interaction either builds trust or erodes it.
Of course you were recruited to lead, not just to fit in. But you can’t drive change without first beginning to build trust and earning your team’s respect. Challenge too soon, and you’ll face resistance. Wait too long, and you’ll lose credibility. The best leaders know how to get the balance right. When to push and when to listen. Start by showing you understand the team’s strengths. Then ask the tough questions that need asking.
Recognising the personalities and personal styles of your team members is also critical to your success. In every senior team, there are patterns. The cynic who’s seen it all before. The quiet one who spots the risks no one else sees. The ambitious one pushing for change. The steady hand keeping things on track. Each has a role to play. If you dismiss them, they become blockers. If you understand them, they become allies. And everyone will have their preferred styles; more direct, more expressive, more amiable or more questioning. Early adjustment to these differing styles enable you to build both successful and satisfying relationships.
“You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.”
Carl Jung
But don’t forget your own assumptions and blind spots. As psychiatrist and psychotherapist Carl Jung said: “You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.” You bring your own history, biases, and ways of working. Some will serve you well. Others will trip you up. If your last team thrived on fast decision-making, you may struggle with a more deliberate culture. If you’re used to direct feedback, a team that values diplomacy may seem frustratingly vague. The best leaders don’t just observe the team; they also observe themselves.
If you’ve just stepped into a senior team, take a breath. Slow down. Watch. Listen. Learn. And when the time is right, start shaping the future through understanding.
If this resonates, I’d love to hear your thoughts. What’s been your biggest challenge when stepping into leading a senior team?