Page 9 - MS Perspectives 2014 YIR

Transitioning to the CEO Role: The First 90 Days

Dr. Eric Flamholtz
President & Founder, Management Systems

I recently was coaching a client on the transition to the CEO role. As part of that
coaching process, I prepared a memo outlining some thoughts for the first 90 Days.
That memo was the basis for this article.

The First 90 Days

First impressions are important. People will be looking to see if it is business as
usual or whether things will change. The first 90 days are fairly important for that
judgment. If your want to send a message about change, this is the time to do it.

Redefining your Role Concept and Time Allocation

Your role is now much broader than before, and demands on your time must be
inevitably greater. There simply will not be sufficient time to do everything by
yourself.

It might be helpful if you step back and use the criterion of "highest and best" use
to guide your strategic time allocation time. What is my highest and best use? That
should govern your role. Identify the things that only you can do, and delegate
most of the rest.

Key Role Components
All managerial and leadership roles include three key aspects1:

1) Technical aspects,
2) Managerial aspects, and
3) Leadership aspects.

In your new role leadership needs to be much greater than before. It requires
greater time and emphasis.

Your Leadership (Support) Team: Selection and Organization

The next step is to organize your leadership team:

1 See Eric Flamholtz and Yvonne Randle, Growing Pains, Fourth Edition, 2006, chapter 9.

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