Whether onboarding or transitioning to an executive role, this article covers everything you need to know about how to start a new executive job, hit the ground running, and how make an executive transition.
This article is for you if you are:
transitioning or onboarding to a C-level role such as CEO, COO, CFO, CTO, CMO, CHRO, Executive Director, CXO, VP, EVP, Division Leader, or Business Unit Leader
transitioning from manager or director level to executive
transitioning to executive management
This image is an overview of how to onboard and transition into an executive role. This article will add more detail, tools, and commentary to these steps.
1. Before you start a new executive job: What you need to do and know
Before day one, complete these executive onboarding steps. This precious time prior to your first day can make an important difference in how quickly you transition. Spending time preparing and reflecting for your first day will pay dividends. This is how you hit the ground running in your new executive role.
Determine if there will be an onboarding program you will engage in or if you’ll need to create or find one like the Avenue to Executive Transition Success. You may discover that you need to improve the executive onboarding program or process at your new organization or in your new role or that your new role does not have a formal onboarding process or plan. Be proactive and set yourself up for success by filling in the pieces your company may miss.
Prepare for day one. Gather information that gives you critical background knowledge about the organization, your role, and your team prior to your start or very early on in your first week. Also, planning for how you want to show up day one helps ensure you make the impression you intend to.
Determine your strengths and development opportunities in the role
2. How to make an executive transition: What to do taking on a new executive role
Whether you are a current executive or transitioning to executive management for the first time, here’s what a new executive or new to role executive should focus on within their first 6 months to successfully transition to their new role.
An executive coming into a new role comes with immense pressure to succeed and take action. This pressure results in some common executive transition challenges that most transitioning executives face and must combat in order to have a successful transition. Learn about the top challenges executives face during transition and onboarding and how to overcome them.
1. Pressure to reveal a new plan right away
This is the most common executive transition challenge. Any transitioning executive faces many questions early on about what is changing and what the new direction is. However, a new plan right out of the gates won’t be based on enough information. Executives should wait until they have engaged the proper stakeholders and received some initial buy-in before revealing new plans.
2. Temptation to rely on their old bag of tricks that worked in previous roles
Another common executive transition challenge is using what got you to your new role to succeed in your new role. Any new role comes with new context and if previous approaches are applied without consider and adaption to the new context, they won’t work as brilliantly as they did before.
3. Taking action instead of taking time to build relationships
To combat the tendency take action and avoid this executive transition challenge remember that leadership is about influence and followership. Influence and followership is gained through building relationships. Rushing to action may result in rejection, a common transition challenge or pitfall.
4. Lack of unanimous clear expectations of their role
If transitioning executives are asking the right questions of stakeholders, they usually encounter this executive transition challenge which is hearing different expectations of them from different stakeholders. Negotiating the role’s expectations and boundaries is often a challenge, that if tackled, will yield to better ability to meet expectations.
4. Deciding who on the team should stay or go
There is often pressure to make adjustments in talent early on and to rip the band aid off if someone should go. Immediate decisions should be balanced with taking time to experience the capabilities and motivations of the leader’s direct reports.
Learn more executive transition challenges when assuming a new role and onboarding
Mistakes made in executive onboarding and transitions
There are common mistakes made in executive transitions and onboarding that I see come up over and over again, both in my experience coaching executives and in research on executive transitions. These mistakes are made by the hiring manger, the executive themselves, and the organization. Learn how to prevent these mistakes in executive transition.
Mistakes made by the hiring manager or board in executive transitions
1. Letting the executive new to role figure out onboarding, transition, and integration on their own
They are smart and capable executives after all. Perhaps the sink or swim approach is the usual way at your organization or what you’ve experienced taking on new roles, but this is the not best way to retain executives and accelerate their impact. Learn about the various roles and support needed in executive onboarding.
2. Tasking the executive new to role with creating their own onboarding and transition plan
They simply don’t know what they don’t know and are not experts on onboarding and transition best practices. Executive’s new to role need guidance on strategic and cultural level onboarding and integration approaches. Executives should own coming up with detailed 90 day and 6-month plans, but the overall approach to onboarding and navigating the culture should come from an onboarding program and their hiring manager. Find the tools, plans, and templates needed for executive onboarding and transition here.
Mistakes made by the organization in executive transitions
1. Setting expectations for action and implementation too quickly
Leaders need time to get input, learn, and build trust before they will be successful in leading any change. At least 30 days is recommended.
2. Not providing a structured and strategic onboarding process or program
Structured and strategic onboarding programs like this one makes onboarding efficient and effective resulting in quicker integration into their role and faster execution based on the proper foundation of knowledge.
3. Not providing an executive transition coach to guide the executive’s focus and development during the transition
Unclear expectations set all parties up for miscommunication and wasted effort. It’s not fair or efficient to to create a situation where the executive is trying to hit a nonexistent target. When they don’t hit a target that hasn’t been defined, it’s creates wasted energy and engagement. “Unstated expectations are rarely met, and if they are, it’s an accident.” Wayne Woodson
5. Not providing guidance on who the most critical stakeholders are and how to navigate them
Giving the new exec a leg up on who is most important to their work and giving them insight into how to navigate these individuals and groups can cut transition time in half.
6. Not providing feedback on the executive’s performance or transition progress at several key points during transition
Early feedback is the best way to correct small and large missteps and to prevent them in the first place. Anyone in a new role needs to know how they are on or off track. This doesn’t change at the executive level.
Learn more about what organizations can do to prevent executive transition mistakes
Mistakes made by the executive in executive transitions
There are common mistakes or pitfalls when onboarding or transition at the executive level. This video covers them and describes how to prevent them. They are also listed below.
Common pitfalls
Not taking enough time to read the politics and culture
Implementing too fast
Not creating a shared vision
Not staying at the highest strategic level of the role
Difficulty adjusting to being constantly evaluated and receiving distorted information
Not creating partnerships through relationships and trust
Allowing expectations to remain unclear
Suffering with Imposter Syndrome
Not setting healthy personal boundaries from the start
Key phrases to avoid
Last, there are also some key phrases that new executives use that rub people the wrong way and create an unfavorable first impression that is difficult to overcome. Learn what they are and what to say instead in this video.
Learn more about causes and solutions of executive transition failure
A successful executive transition doesn’t happen by accident. It requires clarity, structure, and an intentional roadmap that helps a new leader confidently navigate the first year in a role. This article provides what you need to design and execute a high-impact onboarding experience—including timelines, templates, a 30-60-90 day plan, and a complete executive onboarding roadmap.
Whether you’re onboarding a new executive, guiding a transition, or stepping into a new role yourself, these tools help accelerate alignment, reduce risk, and ensure early wins.
Executive transition is the structured process that supports senior leaders as they transition into a new role, company, or scope of responsibility. Unlike standard onboarding, executive onboarding focuses on strategy, relationships, cultural navigation, and early decision-making—elements that directly shape long-term success.
A well-executed process helps leaders:
Understand expectations and priorities
Build trust with key stakeholders
Establish early credibility
Navigate organizational dynamics
Accelerate strategic and operational impact
Without structure, even talented executives face unnecessary missteps in their first months.
Why a structured process matters
Poor transitions are costly. Organizations often underestimate the level of support and clarity executives need when stepping into new roles.
A strong onboarding strategy delivers measurable value:
Reduces early turnover– there’s a 50% chance a new executive will fail or leave the organization in their first 18 months. The cost of an executive failure is 10 times the executive’s salary—sometimes more. HBR
Accelerates a leader’s time-to-performance
Improves cultural alignment and integration
Strengthens team clarity and engagement
Minimizes transition risks and misaligned expectations
Executives who follow a structured onboarding roadmap are more confident, more grounded, and significantly more effective in their first year.
Timeline overview
An executive onboarding roadmap and framework should include phases, timelines, and steps the executive will complete. The major phases on an executive transition or onboarding are:
Prestart- groundwork to hit the ground running
First 30 days- gather insights and build stakeholder alignment
Below is a recommended roadmap for the first 12 months of an executive transition. You may adjust timing based on role, organization, or leadership level.
Pre-Start Preparation
Align expectations with the hiring leader
Review organizational strategy, culture, and structure
Map key stakeholders and early relationship priorities
Clarify metrics for success and first-year goals
First 30 Days: Understanding & Connection
Focus: Learning, listening, building trust
Conduct a strategic listening tour
Build relationships with direct reports, peers, and key partners
Understand cultural dynamics and unspoken norms
Clarify priorities, challenges, opportunities, and risks
Establish communication rhythms and working agreements
Identify longer-term initiatives and resource needs
Communicate a clear direction to the organization
Months 3–6: Performance & Integration
Focus: Decisions, systems, culture shaping
Finalize team structure and key talent decisions
Launch core initiatives and cross-functional work
Strengthen partnerships across the organization
Assess organizational capabilities and gaps
Continue establishing credibility and trust
Months 6–12: Acceleration & Impact
Focus: Sustainability, leadership brand, long-term value
Evaluate progress against first-year goals
Adjust strategy based on insights gained
Build sustainability into newly launched initiatives
Strengthen culture alignment and leadership presence
Begin shaping the long-term strategy
Executive transition plan example
An executive transition plan is a roadmap with phases and steps for an executive onboarding or transitioning and is a critical component to successful and expedient transition. A 6-month roadmap with steps to accomplish at 30, 60, 90 days and 6 months provides the right level of guideposts for an executive transition. An example of an executive transition plan with timelines is:
An agreed upon first 90 or 100 day executive transition or onboarding plan is an important component to transition success. It creates clarity and alignment between the executive and their leader on what the first few months of executive transition should involve and what should be accomplished.
Download this tool for an example and a fillable 90 or 100 day executive onboarding plan template including 30, 60, and 90 day plans fore executives with suggested example activities.
Download 30, 60, 90 day executive transition plan template
the first 90 days, which is a more granular set of planned transition activities. Download the above for a template for the first 90 or 100 days.
post 90 days through the end of the first 6 months. This includes more strategic level goals or OKRs based on what was learned in the first few months in role.
Download the tool below for an example of a 6-month executive onboarding plan template. This onboarding plan template should be filled out after 60-90 days in role.
How to start a new executive role (for the executive)
Transitioning can be overwhelming. To help with this overwhelm, think about and prioritize your activities into four pillars. The four pillars to executive onboarding are:
Taking charge of the team- through trust and assessing dynamics
Aligning with stakeholders- to build trust and credibility that will yield momentum
Engaging with the culture- to understand organizational norms and the executive level dynamics
Defining vision- to shape strategy and plans
The video below describes each of the pillars to focus on during executive transition in detail and is a sample of the type of content given to executives to support them during transition in the Avenue to Executive Transition Success Program.
Case Study: Reducing Time to Impact from 6 Months to 90 Days
A newly appointed Vice President entered her role with unclear and conflicting expectations across stakeholders. Without alignment, there was risk of slowed progress and early missteps.
The Approach
Using a structured executive onboarding roadmap and 90-day plan, she focused on:
Clarifying expectations with her leader and key stakeholders
Building strategic relationships through intentional stakeholder mapping
Crafting a clear vision and change plan within her first 60 days
Delivering early wins that built credibility and momentum
The Outcome
Stakeholder alignment achieved within 45 days
Strong relationships established early
Clear direction communicated by day 60
Early wins delivered within 90 days
Result: Time to meaningful impact reduced from 6 months to just 90 days.
How to onboard a new executive (for those supporting onboarding)
Executive onboarding best practices
Only 30% of global executives are satisfied with their onboarding experience while 32% of executives rate it as poor or below average. 1
To improve the experience and satisfaction of your transitioning executive, implement a detailed executive onboarding process and plan that includes these critical components:
structured and strategic onboarding process or program
an executive transition coach to guide the executive’s development during the transition
clear expectations of the role from both the executive’s manager and other key stakeholders
guidance on who the most critical stakeholders are how to navigate them
feedback on the executive’s performance at several key points during transition from the leader’s manager, direct reports, and other key stakeholders
executive development on critical competencies that are important during transition
tools and information to assess the new team and talent
A checklist can help ensure foundational experiences, meetings, and activities are planned before an executive starts. Prior to start, a communications plan to prepare the organization and give the executive voice is also crucial.
Download this checklist that covers both foundational experiences and communications planning to prepare for executive transition. This tool is helpful for the hiring manager, sponsor, or HR partner looking after early transition integration.
Executive transition checklist
For the executive who is transitioning, download the above 90 day and 6 month onboarding plan templates as a checklist for your onboarding plan.
Communication to the organization about the executive’s transition, the executive themselves, and the executive’s experiences during transition should include these practices:
Leverage existing communications channels to announce transition
Establish an internal communications campaign to introduce the transitioning executive to all employees (even if the executive has been with the organization for some time)
Create an introduction program that fosters rapport and trust between the executive and core stakeholders (internal to the org and external)
Strengthen internal communication lines through interactions and ongoing communication with employees
Create an internal ongoing campaign about the executive’s experience and findings in the first week, month, 90 day and 6 months of their transition
Managing executive transitions (for the manager of the transitioning leader)
The responsibility of managing an executive transition is that of the leader’s manager or the board chair. Often the person(s) responsible for managing, leading, and evaluating the executive transition is called the transition sponsor. Their role includes these key aspects:
Share expectations of the role
Define and communicate transition success
Communicate what they or the organization wants the leader to do/change/improve
Suggest stakeholders the leader should meet with along with important events and groups they should be a part of
Provide suggestions on how to build relationships, navigate, and communicate with the organization
Approve transition plans/goals. Hold the leader accountable to the plans
Validate and approve the executive’s priorities for the first six months
Provide feedback to the new leader on early performance, behavior, and relationships
Human Resources’ role
The lead HR person at an organization or unit should be a critical transition partner to a transitioning executive. Ensuring HR is a valuable partner during transition will allow a healthy ongoing partnership. Support can be provided in the following ways:
Implementing a structured and strategic onboarding process or program
Providing prestart or within the first week (working with the sponsor/hiring manager):
Information about the organization including things like org charts, employee survey feedback, standards of conduct, information on how decisions are made, metrics or process used to evaluate performance
Information about the team they are leading like roles, team engagement data, and evaluations/assessments
Providing your individual perspective during onboarding and transition usually within the first month on:
Culture and politics like who has the power to make or break their plans, who has formal and unexpected informal power, insights about the culture, how decisions are made, and how the organization is experienced by those on the front lines
Direct report team dynamics and insights about team members who report to them
How to best work with their sponsor/hiring manager
Executive onboarding takes between 6 and 9 months for the executive to have full impact in their role if the proper transition and onboarding support is provided. The marker for when an executive transition is concluded is the breakeven point where the executive has returned as much value to the organization as they have consumed while learning and assimilating. An onboarding program can accelerate an executive’s transition breakeven point.
What should be in a 30-60-90 day plan?
Clear goals, stakeholders to meet, strategic priorities, learning goals, and expected outcomes.
How is executive onboarding different from standard onboarding?
It focuses more on strategy, relationships, culture, decision-making, and organizational influence.
Who should be involved in onboarding a senior leader?
The hiring leader, HR or talent partner, key peers, direct reports, and cross-functional partners.
What tools or templates help executives the most?
A stakeholder map, clear expectations alignment, 90-day plan, transition timeline, and team assimilation toolkit.
Conclusion
Executive transitions are a pivotal time in a business and for a leader. The right planning and support is crucial to executive transition success. The toolkit in this article will support transition success in addition to a transition program and coach.
Causes and solutions of executive transition failure– the costs and causes of executive transition failure, the typical approaches to onboarding, what is actually needed by executives in transition, and the benefits of a successful transition
