My client, Lauren, newly appointed as CEO of a tech startup, was finding her transition to the C-suite even more challenging than expected. “I’ve worked with many on my team in previous organizations,” she shared. “They are brilliant, capable people. That’s why I hired them. But getting a common goal accomplished has been frustrating. We leave meetings seeming to agree on a direction, but we’re not moving fast enough. Something must change if we’re going to meet our targets, and it’s my head on the chopping block with the board if we don’t.”
Lauren was in a new executive role, which presented her with an intriguing combination of affirmation and uncertainty. Her past success had earned her a seat at the table, but she needed to discover what that seat required.
Like many leaders in her situation, her temptation was to establish credibility quickly. So she offered solutions, made decisions and tried to demonstrate why she was selected. But the pressure to prove herself crowded out the learning that could increase the value of her contributions. Her approach with her team needed to change.
If you’re new to the C-suite like Lauren, three risks deserve particular attention: misreading the culture, mistaking agreement for alignment and carrying familiar leadership habits into a role that demands different ones. Each invites a shift in how you understand the organization, your team and yourself.
1. Learn the unwritten rules before you rewrite them
The organization chart tells you who reports to whom. It reveals considerably less about whose judgment people trust, which disagreements remain unresolved or what people experienced the last time someone proposed the change you are considering.
Research shows that cultural integration and stakeholder alignment are among the most essential tasks of an executive transition. For a new leader, that means becoming curious about the history behind current behavior. Even if you’ve worked with members of your team before, you may not understand everything about their past experiences. Team members who seem resistant may have weathered several abandoned transformations. A colleague who questions your timeline may understand a constraint nobody has explained. Understanding those experiences gives you better information for deciding what needs to change.
During your first month in a new role, hold conversations across functions and organizational levels and ask:
- What do people need to understand to succeed here?
- When have we been at our best, and what made that possible?
- What important issue is difficult to discuss?
- Whose perspective should I hear before making this decision?
Get specific and ask for examples. “We value collaboration” becomes more useful when someone explains what happens when two departments disagree over resources.
Then compare the stories with what you observe. Who speaks in meetings? Who gets interrupted? Which behaviors receive recognition? What happens when someone delivers unwelcome news?
Share your emerging understanding with a few trusted colleagues and clarify your observations. “Here is what I think I’m learning. Where am I mistaken?” Doing so helps you begin building trust while testing your assumptions. Both matter when the time comes to challenge an established practice.
2. Find out what the nodding means
A roomful of nodding heads can feel reassuring. It can also conceal very different interpretations of the same conversation. Your CFO may hear a commitment to reduce costs. Your CHRO may hear a promise to protect capacity. Your operating leaders may assume their existing projects will continue. Everyone leaves supportive, carrying a different assignment, but progress stalls.
Building alignment requires making those differences discussable.
A study of 51 work teams found that psychological safety was associated with team learning behavior. While the study was not about new executives specifically, it offers a useful foundation. People need to feel free to raise concerns and acknowledge uncertainty if the group is to learn. You can create that invitation by beginning with a brief statement of direction. Identify a few priorities, why they matter, how progress will be measured, and what work must stop or wait.
Then invite each executive on your team to explain the implications for their area. Ask:
- “What would your team do differently next week?”
- “What would you have to give up?”
- “Where does this conflict with another commitment?”
These questions reveal whether your strategy can survive contact with calendars, budgets and existing obligations. Connect your proposed direction to a purpose people can recognize. Explain why the effort matters and invite colleagues to identify the contribution their teams are best positioned to make.
Finally, demonstrate that disagreement is useful. When someone challenges your proposal, explore the concern before defending your position. Then be brave enough to revisit the discussion after implementation begins. Alignment matters as new information and competing demands emerge.
3. Examine the habits that earned you the promotion
Perhaps you built your reputation by solving difficult technical problems. Perhaps you became the person who could rescue a troubled project or answer every question. While those strengths remain valuable, their expression may need to change. The transition to enterprise leadership requires a substantial shift in perspective and responsibility. The challenge includes learning to integrate competing functional needs and determining which problems deserve the organization’s attention.
Start by examining your calendar. How much time goes to decisions only you can make? How often are you participating because your expertise is essential, and how often because involvement feels reassuring? Next, choose one recurring decision to return to its appropriate owner. Clarify the expected outcome, boundaries and resources. Then, define the circumstances that warrant escalation but allow the person latitude to exercise judgment.
Developing deeper leadership self-awareness also requires understanding what pulls you back into familiar behavior. Notice the moments when you interrupt, take over or offer an answer before others have thought through the problem.
Those moments should prompt an internal dialogue where you ask, “What am I trying to accomplish right now? What am I trying to prove?”
It’s helpful to invite two colleagues to give you specific feedback. Give them permission to tell you when your involvement helps and when it limits someone else’s contribution. But don’t just thank them for their candor; make a visible adjustment in your behavior.
Make learning part of the job
At the end of each week, set aside 20 minutes for three questions:
- What did I learn about this organization that changed an assumption?
- Where did apparent agreement conceal a difference?
- Which habit helped me lead, and which one should I reconsider?
Write down one action you’ll commit to for the following week.
Remember, your promotion recognizes what you have already achieved, but your effectiveness will depend on how thoughtfully you respond to what you are discovering. Embrace the duality of being both accomplished and still learning. It will expand your judgment, curiosity and capacity to grow, and contribute to your team’s success.
Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.
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