Some of the world’s most insightful conversations happen when you least expect them.

I was in the airport, on cloud nine. I had just gotten the promotion I had been dreaming about and was feeling so full of myself that I could have announced it on the microphone. Instead, I settled for the guy sitting next to me waiting for the boarding.

“You seem to be having a great day,” he said.

“I am. I just found out I got a promotion to a position I have worked hard to get, and it comes with a team and some awesome technology.”

“That’s fantastic, you have every right to be excited. Do you mind if I ask you something I ask all of my coaching clients?”

Of course not, I said. And then he hit me between the eyes.

“What is your 90-day leadership plan?”

I had to be honest. “I haven’t even thought about it.”

That was 15 years ago. But I have never forgotten it because I eventually realized how big a problem it was when I failed at that opportunity. I won’t go into all the details. But I will tell you that less than a year later, I had unequivocally failed in that role. And the hardest part was knowing it didn’t have to go that way.

What I now know with certainty is this. You don’t get a second chance to start well. But most leaders never think about that until it’s too late. Said differently,

A team’s struggles rarely start with the team. They start on day one, when the leader didn’t have a plan.

Research shows that 60% of new leaders fail within their first 24 months. Not because they weren’t capable of leading. Not because they didn’t want their team to be successful. But because they had no foundation to build on.

A Plan Alone Changes Nothing

Before we get into it, there is something you and I must get aligned on.

A plan by itself does not change or transform anything. What changes things is a leader who shows up with an intentional plan, adjusts when reality hits, and refuses to wing it when things get hard. Because it absolutely will get hard.

Since leadership is more art than science. What works for one leader on one team in one organization might not work exactly the same way for the next. The best leaders know this so they borrow frameworks and principles and make them their own.

So if you already have a 90-day plan that is working, stop reading here.

But if you are stepping into a new role without one, or you have been leading long enough to wonder whether your foundation is as strong as it needs to be, what follows are the best practices I have learned over 15 years of coaching and studying leaders at every level. These are not rules, just proven practices. Use what fits and build from there.

1. Evaluate the Current State – People and Perception | Day 0-30

The first 30 days are not about proving yourself as the smartest leader who ever lived or even just the smartest in the room. They are about understanding the current state of what you’re working with.

Most new leaders make the same mistake. They come in with answers before they have asked enough questions. They want to show the team they belong. So they start making changes before they know what is broken, what is working, and who on the team is capable of taking them somewhere.

Always, always, always, start with the evaluation of people. Author Jim Collins called it, “First who, then what.”

‘First who, then what” – Jim Collins

Before you decide where the team is going, you need to know who is on it. That means real interacticion with every direct report. Not check-ins. Conversations about goals, strengths, and weaknesses. You are not just evaluating individuals, either. You are evaluating how the team works together. You can have talented people who actually hurt the team. One plus one does not always equal four.

While you are doing all of that evaluating, the team is evaluating you. How you show up in the first 30 days sets a tone that is very hard to undo. Be curious, not arrogant. Listen more than you talk. Find a small win early. Something that builds a little momentum and a little trust before the big vision lands.

The hardest decision in this phase is also the most important. At some point in the first 30 days, you are going to know there is someone on this team who does not belong. Most new leaders wait too long. Refuse this temptation because the team already knows who doesn’t belong, and your courage to make that change will be rewarded with trust.

2. Set the New Course Shared Purpose and Standards | Day 31-60

By day 31, you have done enough listening. Now it is time to lead and implement. To modify execution.

This phase has two parts that have to happen together. Establishing a shared purpose and setting clear standards of performance. Most leaders do one without the other. They announce a big goal but never define how the team is going to behave to get there. Or they set expectations but never give the team something worth working toward. Both approaches fall short.

Start with shared purpose. For example, what is the common goal this team is going to band together to achieve? Not your personal and self-serving goal, but the team’s goal. Something big enough to require everyone to show up and modify their behavior. This is what turns a group of individuals into a team.

Pair it with standards of performance, and then you are cooking with gas. Coach Kenny Simpson, Author of Iron Valley, told me on the John Eades Podcast, “Don’t have 5,000 rules and not apply any of them. Find one or two things you’re going to live by.”

Coach Simpson is right. What are the two to five winning behaviors that every person on this team, including you, will be held accountable for? Not empty values on a wall. Actual behaviors you can see, measure, and call out.

3. Build the Machine to Get There Rhythm and Results | Day 61-90

You know the team. You have set the direction. You have defined the standards of performance. Now you build the system for elite execution.

This is the phase most leaders skip. Not because they don’t care about accountability, but because they underestimate how much the system matters. You have surely heard the quote, “Vision without execution is just a dream.” And the reason you have heard it is that it’s true. Show me your system, and I will show you your results.

Install a rhythm or a cadence of execution. A weekly team meeting where the team looks at the scoreboard together, addresses what is in the way, and leaves knowing exactly what they are accountable for that week. A visible scoreboard that tells everyone at a glance whether they are winning or losing. Consistent coaching and one-on-one interactions that are focused on priorities.

By day 90, the team should not need you to remind them of the goal. The machine and your constant communication will do that. Your job is to keep the system running and keep raising the ceiling on what is possible.

Closing

Maybe you are reading this, and you are not starting a new role. You have been leading your team for a while. You started at some point, and if you are being honest, it probably did not look anything like this.

That is okay. But ask yourself three questions right now.

• Do you actually know your people — their goals, their strengths, how they work together?
• Does your team have a shared purpose they are genuinely excited about and standards they are held to?
• Is there a real system running this team, or is it running on your energy alone?

If the answer to any of those is no or I am not sure, you now know exactly where to start. Save this. At some point, you will start again. And when you do, you will want a plan.

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About the Author: John Eades is the CEO of LearnLoft and The Sales Infrastructure. He was named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices. John is also the author of Building the Best and the Optimistic Outlook