I have been put in different starting points e.g. turnaround situations on a loss making business running out of cash, a growth case which was operationally in good shape but not leveraging the opportunity, an organizational growth case which required a different level of management to scale to the next level or simply a case where everyone was happy with the status quo and a successor was needed. 

Depending on the situation you have been put in, the timing may differ. On a loss making case you need to stop the drain fast to ensure that the company has enough cash to stay in business. On a growth case which is driven by sales & marketing investments, timing is as important as new sales people and marketing campaigns will have a six to twelve months lead time. That means results may come in four quarters from the starting point. A steady successor case has much more freedom to do things over time and is normally less disruptive. In any case you need to manage the expectations of your stakeholders. 

Communication is a key success factor. 

Depending on the timing, you need to take action quickly and the impact of the measures may vary, so internal and external communication is key. Building up trust, getting people on board over time to your strategy, and executing this strategy are important. If you are forced to take tough measures fast, not everyone may be happy with changes but if you explain why you do the things you do and how everyone contributes to the corporate strategy with their daily tasks, and if you deliver on your promises, you will succeed over time. 

My approach is talking to as many people and stakeholders as you can during your first weeks of a new job as you will never have as much time to do it later on. Listen to the ones which are not as extrovert as others. Normally engineers, technicians, finance staff do not get as much airtime as their sales and marketing colleagues due to their way of positioning themselves, but they may have great inside to the companies opportunities and challenges. 

Observe the managers you have on your team and encourage them to speak out. You may find people who have great ideas, energy and willingness to contribute (leaders) and you will find people who observe the scene and start communicating when an opinion is already build. They jump on a train but will not initiate a discussion (followers). You may have team members who want a decision and get it executed and they may stay quiet for while (doers). Obviously there are politicians as well and you need to understand their value. You may as well have people on the team which cannot contribute.

Distinguish between the story told and the facts and you will spot performers and non-performers quickly. I am normally very cautious on managers blaming past management on short falls but leaving the question unanswered what they have contributed to improve the situation. 

Most important is that you complete your analysis and seek agreement and commitment from the new management team on the way forward. You have the opportunity to change the team. 

As a side remark: commitment means to promise, deliver and feel responsible. If in rare cases the circumstances do not allow someone to deliver the commitment, seek for help, communicate early and openly to mitigate the risk for the company. A culture where commitment isn’t important will never deliver great performance. It is much more fun and motivational to celebrate the successes.

Choose your team wisely that it fits, has the right skills and works together. Diversity in all aspects is a key success factor, commitment and empathy to the joined future.

You need four things to succeed as a team:

1. Create and communicate a strategy with defined outcomes. You may use the Objectives-and-Key-Results (OKR) Methodology. Goals and Objectives should be challenging but achievable. The strategy should follow the vision you have developed for the company.
2. People are highly important. Get a team together based on diversity: talents, education, experience, gender, nationality and culture. High diversity on teams create much better results. Most important that you seek for agreement and commitment on the goals and objectives. The team needs to have high standards as they are important to create a great corporate culture based on trust. Invest in the education of your (leadership) team and implement a talent program to give perspective. Do not tolerate discrimination and politics as the team will suffer by such energy absorbing topics which create no value. Develop the ones who can be developed or take respectful decisions to change. Last but not least a team needs empathy. Ensure that the team members love what they do and are passionate about it.
3. Processes and tools are leading to operational efficiency and enable growth. Processes in a company should be easy, user friendly and best of bread to lead to great results. Benchmark your processes from all angels and change them if needed. There is no ‘that’s how we have done it in the past’ if results aren’t at the right level. Seek for best practices even outside your industry. 
4. Organizational setup should support your business that responsibilities are well defined and linked to your goals and objectives. Give your leaders the resources and responsibility to deliver their commitment. Reduce the interfaces or silos on a process which are driven by the organizational design. Ideally, do things in one place and have the same processes on a global level as this reduces complexity, makes results transparent and easy to measure.
   

Get into your new leadership position by gaining as much inside as you can and connect to the people. Listen and analyze the situation. Depending on the situation you are in, you need to set your priorities: stop the drain fast, develop your team, set your strategy, change processes or organizational setup to achieve better results or buy a company to close a strategic gap. But you as a leader need the support of the people who put you on the job, otherwise you won’t succeed.

Nevertheless, change will be a challenge for the employees and stakeholders, some like it, some waited for it, some may fear the change, hence communication is highly important to explain the strategy and measures. Update the team frequently so that there is no lack of information which can cause uncertainty. Be honest on the achievements because that builds trust. 

If you want to succeed in a new leadership role, take bold decisions quickly and communicate openly to deliver results soon. Show some lighthouse projects to make progress visible. Manage the expectations of all stakeholders and keep your values high. You may face resilience but this is part of the job you have been asked to do. I can tell you from my experience, this is very motivational for a team which has overcome a crisis and delivered something great. This team can build an exceptional momentum to achieve the ambitious goals they set themselves at the beginning. It is great fun to celebrate successes as a team and invest in your employees to develop them further.