New Leader Transition Coaching

An internal promotion and an external hire face different risks

Both are transitions, but the traps are not the same. Knowing which one you are in tells us where to focus first.

How new leader transition coaching follows the 90-day arc

I structure the engagement around the natural rhythm of a transition. The phases overlap, and we adjust them to your context. For the planning side, my first 90 days plan template is a useful companion.

1. 01

   Before day one

   We clarify what you were hired or promoted to do, what you are bringing with you and what you need to leave behind.

2. 02

   Days 1 to 30: listen and map

   You meet people, ask questions and map the stakeholders, informal influencers and tensions. We make sense of what you are hearing.

3. 03

   Days 31 to 60: decide what matters

   We test your early conclusions, choose a small number of priorities and prepare the conversations that come with them.

4. 04

   Days 61 to 90: set the rhythm

   You begin to shape how your team meets, decides and holds itself accountable, and we review how you are being received.

Transitions in the Gulf carry extra layers

Many of the leaders I work with are stepping into roles shaped by features specific to this region. A family-owned business where the founder still has the final word. A multinational team spread across several nationalities. A government entity with established hierarchy and protocol. A remit that includes developing national talent under Bahrainisation, Saudisation or Emiratisation targets.

If you are relocating, executive onboarding coaching helps you understand how decisions are really made here before you try to change them. I have worked inside multinational organisations and in government, which helps me ask the right questions about your new context.

What we cover in our first session

We start with the story of your appointment: why you, why now, and what success looks like to the person who chose you. Then we look at the first relationships that matter most and the assumptions you are carrying in.

Before you leave, we agree what you will listen for in your first fortnight and who you need to meet. I ask questions; I won’t tell you what to decide. My job is to help you see your new situation clearly enough to make your own good calls.

Sessions usually run weekly during the first 90 days, because a transition moves quickly and early impressions form fast. After that we often move to every two weeks.

What tends to change by the end of the first quarter

• ✦Your team understands what you stand for and how you like to work.
• ✦You have built working trust with your manager, your peers and the people with informal influence.
• ✦Your priorities are few, clear and agreed upwards.
• ✦You have stopped doing your previous job alongside the new one.
• ✦You know your own stress patterns in the role and how to manage them.

Why my background suits transition work

Over 26 years in leadership, HR and talent development, I supported executive teams through growth and transformation and saw many leadership appointments from the HR side. I know what organisations expect from a new senior leader and what they rarely say aloud.

I am an ICF PCC coach with more than 4,500 coaching hours, trained in executive and systemic coaching. The systemic lens is especially useful in a transition, because you are joining a system that existed long before you arrived.