Your First 90 Days in a Leadership Role
You've earned a bigger role. Now you have to establish authority, learn a new landscape and start delivering without becoming the person who says yes to everything. This package is for newly appointed managers, directors, senior directors, vice presidents and leaders entering an unfamiliar organization, team or scope. - Clarify your mandate: what success means to your manager, peers, team and the business, and what expectations are contradictory or unspoken. - Map the power landscape: key stakeholders, allies, decision-makers, cross-functional dependencies and sources of political risk. - Plan early listening and diagnosis: identify what to learn before changing processes, people, priorities or the operating model. - Shift your leadership posture: move from individual expert or problem-solver to delegation, leadership through others and executive-level judgment. - Prepare high-stakes communication: practice your first executive readout, difficult peer conversation, manager alignment or team expectations discussion. - Develop the first-90-day operating plan: quick wins, deliberate non-priorities, decision cadence, progress measures and how you will adjust after feedback. The shorter tier concentrates on landing well, managing key relationships and choosing priorities. The extended tier allows rehearsal and coaching during actual first-90-day decisions; it does not promise a promotion or a friction-free transition.
What's included
Our confidential, one-on-one coaching sessions focus on the real challenges you're navigating in your new leadership role. We'll work through stakeholder relationships, strategic priorities, executive communication, difficult conversations, and key decisions, using practical frameworks and exercises where helpful. Each session is tailored to your role, organization, and where you are in your first 90 days, with clear next steps you can put into practice.
- Clarity on what success looks like in your new role, including the expectations and early results that matter most to your leadership.
- A strategy for building trust, credibility, and strong relationships with the executives, peers, and team members who influence your success.
- A personalized 30/60/90-day leadership plan that helps you prioritize, secure early wins, and avoid getting pulled into everything at once.
- Practical strategies for communicating with executives, delegating effectively, and showing up with confidence and authority.
- Prepared talking points and approaches for high-stakes conversations, including setting expectations, navigating politics, and addressing difficult situations.
- For the extended engagement, ongoing guidance to navigate real challenges, evaluate your progress, and adjust your approach as you settle into the role.
Meet your expert
Nicole M.
Former Cox VP | Lead Confidently, Navigate Politics & Drive Change
I work with professionals, leaders, and business owners who are navigating change, stepping into bigger responsibilities, or trying to turn ambitious goals into meaningful results. Over the past 20+ years, I've worked across consulting and corporate leadership, including Deloitte, Accenture, Booz Allen, and Cox Automotive. I've led large teams, managed complex transformations, helped organizations improve how they operate, and coached professionals through career transitions and leadership challenges. Today, I bring that experience to coaching across four areas: - Leadership: Building confidence, executive presence, strategic judgment, and the ability to navigate organizational dynamics. - Career Growth & Transitions: Preparing for promotions, moving into new roles, exploring career pivots, or redefining what professional success looks like. - Business Strategy & Operations: Turning strategy into action, solving operational challenges, and leading organizational change. - AI & Transformation: Helping professionals and leaders understand AI, identify practical opportunities, and guide meaningful change in their teams or organizations. What working with me is like I'm a practical, thoughtful, and candid coach. I'll ask questions that help you see things differently, but I won't leave you to figure everything out on your own. When it's helpful, I'll share frameworks, lessons from my own experience, and practical approaches you can apply immediately. Our sessions are collaborative and tailored to what you're navigating. We might work through a difficult leadership decision, prepare for an important conversation, examine a business challenge, or develop a plan for your next career move. My goal is to help you leave with greater clarity, stronger judgment, and the confidence to move forward on your own terms.
