Those crucial, first three months will set the tone for the rest of your tenure. Dominic and Laura Ashley-Timms underline three ways to show your people they are a priority
As the new UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer assumes power, his first 100 days in charge will be under close scrutiny. For those taking on positions of business leadership elsewhere, their own first 100 days are also crucial, setting the tone for what is to come – and showing the people they’re about to guide – exactly what kind of leader they can expect.
Within the FMCG space, where CEOs are balancing consumer expectations, operational efficiency and the needs of the people they lead, becoming as effective as possible, as quickly as possible, is paramount. When margins are tight, as they so often are within the challenging consumer market, focus on the bottom line propels the need for fast-paced decision making.
The problem is, those taking up new positions of leadership within this kind of culture can often default to what we call command-and-control; resorting to direction and handing out solutions to every problem brought to them, feeling pressure to have all of the answers, all of the time. The risk here, though, is that the engagement of their workforce suffers for it – not to mention impacting their own wellbeing.
The business case for prioritising people
Employee engagement across the world is stagnant, with just 23 percent of employees engaged, according to the Gallup State of the Global Workplace report 2024. This low engagement is costing the global economy $8.9 trillion, or nine percent of global GDP. In the UK, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged organisations to elevate people priorities to the same level as their strategic priorities, calculating that just a seven percent improvement in the quality of management could unlock an additional £110 billion to the UK economy.
For new leaders, it’s therefore never been more important to prioritise the people side of their roles. For Keir Starmer, the policies he enacts within his first 100 days will outline exactly what his priorities are. For leaders, showing the people they lead that they are one of these priorities could lead to greater organisational success.
Here are three things every new leader should do within their first 100 days and, indeed, beyond:
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Ask questions of those around you
New leaders are usually viewed with suspicion. Their people wonder what radical changes they intend to make and what kind of leader they are. And when new leaders make uninformed, sweeping decisions for the sake of appearing decisive, employees begin to fear their suspicions were justified.
One way to allay their fears is by adopting an enquiry-led approach to decision making – this means asking questions of those around you in such a way that invites collaboration. When a new problem arises, avoid jumping in with your own solutions straight away and instead ask powerful questions to stimulate others’ thinking. If sales of X product have fallen in Y region, encourage team members to explore their own existing knowledge of the company/market/data rather than dominating discussions and relying on your own thinking. This will encourage an open and honest environment in which better outcomes are reached and people feel included.
Keir Starmer showed that he respects the expertise of others and is prepared not to be the most informed man in a room when appointing his cabinet – the prisons minister is a CEO known for employing ex-offenders, while his secretary of state for levelling up, housing and communities grew up in one of the area’s poorest council estates.
As a general management practice, choosing to adopt an ‘enquiry-led approach’ in this way will stand you in good stead beyond your first 100 days and throughout your tenure, as it relieves the cognitive load and pressure on you as a leader to be omniscient. Being able to master the art of asking powerful, thought-provoking questions of your employees allows you to ditch the ‘fix and solve’ response, and instead presents the other person with a learning opportunity to become an independent, solution-driven problem solver. It also shows that you respect the opinions and capabilities of those around you and encourages a sense that everyone is valued and has a stake in both the decisions that are made and their outcome.
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Listen, don’t just do
Listening before acting, and really actively listening at that, goes hand in hand with enquiry. What aren’t people telling you when they’re speaking, how do people react when a topic is discussed? It’s not just about hearing what your people say during a conversation, it’s about focusing and picking up on body language. It sounds straightforward, but we’re so used to being distracted by phones or computers that it happens much less often than it should!
Often, employees find it difficult to be honest with a new leader. Actively listening and reading between the lines will help you understand where operational problems lie, what each team or employee values, expects or may be struggling with.
When a leader steps into a new role, they can often hear only what they want to hear. But for the people around them, having a leader who invites truth and has time to be fully informed can make them feel incredibly secure. Cultures that encourage two-way communication in this way also benefit from increased innovation, as team members feel confident sharing ideas and solutions for problems/challenges they’re facing.
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Build a solid foundation of trust
By adopting both of the seemingly simple techniques above, new leaders can cultivate a solid foundation of trust with which to begin their new role. Indeed, they are two things that should be utilised by all leaders, whether they are established or just picking up the reins. We call this approach Operational Coaching®, because it brings coaching into the flow of work. It encourages leaders to have ‘coaching conversations’ with their people that challenge, support and grow their capabilities in ways that measurably benefit the individual and the organisation. Colleagues are more engaged, feel recognised and valued, and bring their best ideas to the table.
48 percent of CEOs believe productivity will be their highest priority over the next three years, according to IBM, and that’s of course justified. A new leader within their first 100 days will, like the new PM, be expected to make quick decisions that have a positive, rapid and palpable impact. But in the end, every business is made up of one thing: people. Leaders who recognise that they can only improve efficiency, grow profits, increase brand recognition and so forth, through the actions and buy-in of others will fare better in the long-term.
Dominic Ashley-Timms and Laura Ashley-Timms are the CEO and COO of performance consultancy Notion, creator of the multi-award-winning and internationally certified STAR® Manager programme used by managers in over 40 countries. They are also the co-authors of the new management bestseller The Answer is a Question: The Missing Superpower that Changes Everything and Will Transform Your Impact as a Manager and Leader.
