Leadership
Why senior hires fail in the first 90 days
6 min read
The appointment is only the beginning. Clarity, sponsorship and early conversations set a new leader up to succeed.
The appointment is only the beginning. Clarity, sponsorship and early conversations set a new leader up to succeed.
Make the unwritten brief visible.
New leaders arrive with a job description. They also inherit expectations that may never have been written down. The chair, chief executive and team should agree on priorities before the first day, including what should remain unchanged.
Build a working relationship early.
Arrange the conversations that let the leader understand the business before asking for a transformation plan. Review progress together at thirty, sixty and ninety days. When expectations diverge, resolve the difference directly rather than waiting for a formal review.
A practical next step
Before starting your next appointment, agree the outcomes, the evidence you will assess and the support the new leader will need. Bring those decisions into the first conversation with your search partner.
WRITTEN BY
Noa Feldman
Noa helps boards plan succession and find the right independent voices.
Further reading
Market report
What boards now expect from a first-time CFO
8 min read
We asked 62 chairs what changed in the last three years. The answers say a lot about who gets the job now.
Hiring guide
How to write a search brief that attracts the right people
5 min read
A useful brief makes the hard choices before the first candidate conversation.
Talk to the partner who’d run your search.
Tell us the role in a few lines. A partner calls you back within one working day.
Brief a search →