From Surviving to Thriving: 5 Steps New Managers Must Take in Their First 90 Days

Congratulations: you just got promoted to your first management role. You've worked hard, proven yourself as an individual contributor, and now you're leading the team.

But here's what nobody tells you: 60% of new managers fail within their first 24 months.

That statistic isn't meant to scare you. It's meant to wake you up to the reality that stepping into leadership requires a completely different skillset than the one that got you here. The transition from "doing the work" to "leading the people who do the work" is one of the most challenging: and most critical: career shifts you'll ever make.

I've seen talented professionals stumble in their first 90 days, not because they weren't capable, but because they tried to wing it. They treated their new role like an extension of their old one. They skipped the foundation-building work. And they burned out before they ever got their footing.

Your first 90 days set the tone for everything that follows. This is where you either build the resilience, relationships, and strategic clarity that will sustain you: or where you set yourself up for exhaustion and failure.

Let me walk you through the five steps that will help you not just survive, but thrive in your new leadership role.

Step 1: Clarify Expectations with Your Manager

Before you do anything else: before you meet with your team, before you start solving problems, before you make any changes: sit down with your own boss.

This conversation is non-negotiable.

You need to understand what success looks like in their eyes. What are their priorities? What are the biggest challenges they're facing? How does your role fit into the broader organizational goals? How often will you meet? What decisions can you make autonomously, and which ones need their input?

I've found that new managers often skip this step because they're eager to prove themselves to their team. But here's the truth: if you're not aligned with your boss's expectations, you'll waste precious energy on the wrong priorities.

Ask the tough questions upfront:

• What does success in this role look like in 90 days? Six months? A year?

• What are the biggest risks or challenges you see for this team?

• Where do you want me to focus my attention first?

• How do you prefer to communicate when issues arise?

This clarity becomes your north star. When you're overwhelmed (and you will be), you can return to these priorities to guide your decisions.

Step 2: Listen and Learn from Your Team

Here's where most new managers get it wrong: they show up ready to fix everything.

Resist that urge.

Your first 30 days should be a listening and learning phase. Schedule one-on-one meetings with every person on your team: not to tell them your vision, but to understand theirs.

Ask them about their strengths, their frustrations, their goals, and their ideas for improvement. Find out what's working and what's not. Learn about the unwritten rules, the informal power dynamics, and the history that shaped this team.

This isn't just about gathering information. It's about building psychological safety and trust: two things you can't mandate, only earn. And the research backs this up: 31% of employees quit within their first six months when they feel disconnected from their leader.

You need to know that only 16% of employees currently thrive in their roles. That means most of your team members are probably struggling in some way. Your job isn't to have all the answers: it's to create an environment where they can succeed.

During these conversations, pay attention to:

• Recurring themes or concerns across multiple team members

• Gaps between what people say and what their body language tells you

• Ideas that have been suggested before but never implemented

• The informal leaders who influence the team's culture

This reconnaissance period will tell you where to focus your energy as their new leader. It will also signal to your team that you value their input: that leadership isn't about top-down control, but about collaboration and mutual respect.

Step 3: Understand the Business and Culture

Leadership doesn't happen in a vacuum. You're now part of a larger ecosystem, and you need to understand how it works.

Spend time reviewing your organization's strategic plan. Attend meetings outside your immediate team. Identify the key stakeholders and decision-makers you need to build relationships with. Learn the budget cycle, the approval processes, and the political landscape.

I know this sounds tedious. But contextual awareness is what separates reactive managers from strategic leaders.

When you understand the big picture, you can:

• Align your team's work with organizational priorities

• Anticipate changes before they disrupt your team

• Speak the language of senior leadership

• Position your team's contributions in a way that gets noticed and valued

Don't make the mistake of treating your team as an island. The most effective leaders I've worked with understand that their team's success is tied to the success of the organization as a whole.

This is also where resilience becomes critical. Understanding the broader context helps you weather uncertainty and change: not by ignoring it, but by seeing it coming and preparing your team accordingly.

Step 4: Set Clear Expectations and Early Goals

By the end of your first 60 days, it's time to shift from learning mode to leading mode.

Now that you understand your boss's priorities, your team's dynamics, and the organizational context, you need to communicate your expectations clearly. Your team needs to know what you value, how you make decisions, and what success looks like under your leadership.

Be transparent about:

• Your personal leadership style and non-negotiables

• How you'll handle conflict and difficult conversations

• Your expectations for communication and collaboration

• The goals you're prioritizing and why

Develop a system for tracking progress. Consider implementing regular one-on-ones with a shared agenda where team members can raise concerns and celebrate wins. Clarity reduces anxiety: for you and for them.

This is also the time to identify "quick wins": small, visible improvements that build momentum and demonstrate positive change. Maybe it's streamlining a cumbersome process, addressing a long-standing frustration, or securing resources your team has been requesting for months.

These early wins aren't about grandstanding. They're about showing your team that you listened, you care, and you're capable of making things better.

In my talk, "The Privilege of Leadership," I emphasize that leadership isn't a title: it's a responsibility. Every decision you make, every priority you set, every expectation you communicate shapes the experience of the people you lead. That's not a burden. It's a privilege. And it demands intentionality.

Step 5: Recognize Progress and Develop Your Management Skills

Leadership is a skill you develop, not a position you occupy.

Even as you're establishing yourself, you need to invest in your own growth. The skills that made you a great individual contributor won't automatically make you a great manager. You need to learn how to deliver feedback, facilitate productive meetings, coach team members through challenges, and navigate conflict.

Here's the good news: for about three months, you'll have grace as "the new manager." People will forgive mistakes if you're transparent, humble, and committed to learning. Use that window wisely.

But don't wait until you're drowning to ask for help. Seek out mentorship, read books on leadership, and invest in your development now. The leaders who thrive are the ones who recognize that they'll never "arrive": there's always more to learn.

And here's something critical that often gets overlooked: recognize your team's progress early and often. Small acts of appreciation have an outsized impact on engagement and retention. Celebrate wins, acknowledge effort, and make people feel seen.

Recognition isn't soft. It's strategic. When people feel valued, they perform better, stay longer, and weather challenges with greater resilience.

Building Resilience from Day One

Every step I've outlined comes back to one central theme: resilience.

Resilience isn't about toughing it out or pretending you have it all together. It's about building the foundation: relationships, clarity, skills, and support systems: that will sustain you through the inevitable challenges ahead.

Your first 90 days are critical because they establish the habits, mindsets, and practices that will determine whether you burn out or thrive. You're not just learning to manage: you're learning to lead in a way that's sustainable for you and empowering for your team.

If you're serious about building the resilience and leadership capacity to succeed long-term, I'd love to see you at the Resilient Leader Bootcamp on May 27-28 in Lake Stevens. It's two days dedicated to developing the practical skills and mental frameworks that will help you navigate the complexities of leadership without sacrificing your well-being.

You can learn more and register at shawnfrederickspeaks.com.

Your first 90 days are just the beginning. But if you build the right foundation now, you won't just survive your transition into leadership: you'll thrive in it.

Let's make it happen.