The New Leader's 100 Day Action Plan 4th Ed.

How to Take Charge, Build or Merge Your Team, and Get Immediate Results

George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check, John A. Lawler

Publisher: Wiley, 2016, 208 pages

ISBN: 978-1-119-22323-8

Keywords: Leadership

Last modified: June 5, 2021, 1:45 p.m.

The first 100 days in a new leadership transition are critical, as they set the foundation for the leader's, and the team's, success going forward.

Are you joining a new organization from the outside, getting promoted from within, leading a reorganization or restart, or merging teams following an acquisition? Operating in a larger public, mid-sized private equity, or smaller, start-up environment? Now in its fourth edition, The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan has become the trusted operating manual for new leaders and leaders promoted to new leadership roles. Written by leadership experts George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check, and John A. Lawler of PrimeGenesis, this indispensible resource can help any leader deliver better results quickly and efficiently.

Thoroughly revised, The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan offers tools, plans and insights leaders need to accelerate their own leadership and their team's success in the first critical days and beyond. Step by step, the authors detail how to implement the foundational suspects of strong transition leadership by getting a head start, engaging the culture, managing the message, setting direction, aligning the team, and delivering results. The fourth edition has been updated with fresh graphics and downloadable tools, and expanded with insights gleaned from real-world PrimeGenesis clients since the last edition was published.

The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan helps to assess the business context and internal political culture leaders will be facing in their new role and the authors give directions for implementing the proven BRAVE approach. This approach can motivate team members by understanding their Behaviors, Relationships, Attitudes, Values, and Environment. To further inspire new stakeholders, information is included for tapping into the power of social media and other communication tools. Bosses of new leaders will appreciate the suggestions for keeping new leaders on track and helping them succeed.

Designed as a flexible playbook, the text contains the strategies and insight to put a winning team in place (energized by its co-created burning imperative) and establish landmark management practices that have the power to drive accountability and deliver early wins. The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan offers extensive notes and downloadable content on the website onboardingtools.com.

With The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan as a guide, any leader can develop their own unique leadership practices and culture, in order to deliver better results faster and sustainably over time.

  1. Position Yourself for Success: Get the Job. Make Sure It Is Right for You. Avoid Common Land Mines
    1. BRAVE Culture Assessment/Preference
    2. Risk Assessment
    3. 5Cs Situation Analysis
    4. SWOT
  2. Leverage the Fuzzy Front End: Jump-Start Relationships. Listen, Learn, and Plan Before Day One
    1. 100-Day Plan Worksheet
    2. Context Assessment
    3. ACES Context/Culture Map
    4. Communication Planning
    5. Onboarding Conversation Framework
    6. Personal Set-Up/Relocation
    7. Office Set-Up
    8. Leadership Team Role Sort (for merging teams)
    9. Leadership Team Prestart Alignment Session (for merging teams)
    10. Announcement Cascade
  3. Take Control of Day One: Make a Powerful First Impression. Confirm Your Entry Message
    1. Day One Checklist
    2. New Leader Assimilation Session
    3. New Owner Assimilation Session (for an acquisition)
  4. Activate Ongoing Communication: Establish Leadership and Begin Cultural Transformation
    1. Communication Guide
  5. Pivot to Strategy: Co-Create the Burning Imperative by Day 30
    1. Burning Imperative Workshop
  6. Drive Operational Accountability: Embed Milestones by Day 45 and Early Wins by Day 60
    1. Milestone Management
    2. Team Charter/Early Win Tool (for subteams)
    3. Problem Solving
  7. Strengthen the Organization: Get the Right Team in Place by Day 70
    1. Role Sort
    2. Recruiting Brief
  8. Keep Building: Evolve Your Leadership, Practices, and Culture to Deliver Results
    1. Quarterly Reviews
    2. Internal Communications
    3. Program Management
    4. Coaching and Support
    5. 100-Hour Plan for Crisis Management