Career Playbook: Practical Tips for Executive Onboarding

When you transition to a new role, it’s likely that you have two goals in mind. First, you want to challenge and develop yourself. Second, you want to contribute something of value to the organization. Fortunately, new assignments that build and broaden your experience tend to build capability for the organization too. It can be a win/win – organizations get new leadership to energize the company and advance the strategy, you get a new career opportunity. That’s the ideal. But the reality often falls short.

"Human beings are overconfidence machines," wrote David Brooks, a columnist for The New York Times. Most executives overestimate their skill and their success. According to a Businessweek poll, 90 percent of leaders said they believed they were in the top 10 percent of leaders. People want their leaders to be confident. But when leaders become overly confident, it increases the chances they will derail after taking a new role. Career Playbook: Practical Tips for Executive Onboarding provides advice to help new exectuvies navigate the onboarding process and maximize the first 90 days.