Template · Leadership
A 90-day plan for people leading a team for the first time
A ninety-day plan for a newly promoted manager, agreed with their own manager on day one. It sets out what to do in the first week, the first month and the first quarter, from listening to the team to setting a weekly rhythm and holding the first difficult conversation, with a review at week twelve.
The template
Worked example: A newly promoted logistics team lead in Accra, managing seven dispatchers
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Agreed goals for the 90 days
Three outcomes the new manager will deliver by week 12, agreed with their director
On-time dispatch from 86% to 93% · No dispatcher works more than two weekends a month · A deputy identified and trained
Note A: Outcomes, not activities. They are what the week 12 review checks.
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Week 1 · Listen
One-to-one with every team member: what works, what gets in your way, what should I not change
Seven one-to-ones of 30 minutes in the first four days. Notes kept private; themes shared with the team on Friday
Note B: Change nothing in week one. The team is watching whether the new manager listens.
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Weeks 2 and 3 · Learn the work from the manager’s seat
Measures the team is judged on · Where the work gets stuck · Who the team depends on
Learned the dispatch measures; mapped delays to late vehicle checks; met the fleet and warehouse leads
Note C: The aim is to see the team’s work as a system, not to become the best dispatcher again.
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Week 4 · Set the rhythm
Weekly team review: day, time, four measures · Weekly one-to-ones: day and time
Monday 7:30 review on on-time dispatch, vehicle readiness, overtime hours and complaints · One-to-ones Wednesdays
Note D: A fixed rhythm is the single habit that most separates effective new managers.
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Weeks 5 to 8 · Delegate and give feedback
Two tasks the manager stops doing and hands over · First difficult conversation planned
Handed rota planning to the senior dispatcher · Held the conversation about repeated late starts with one team member
Note E: If the manager is still doing everything at week eight, the director should step in.
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Week 12 · Review
Progress on the three outcomes · What the team says · What support the manager needs next
On-time dispatch at 92% · Team survey positive on clarity, mixed on workload · Wants training on difficult conversations
Note F: Held with the director, and ideally a short skip-level conversation with the team beforehand.
How to use it
About 85 minutes in total.
- 1
Agree the three outcomes with the new manager and their director on day one
15 min - 2
Put the week 1, week 4 and week 12 milestones in both calendars
5 min - 3
Check in briefly at week 4 on the rhythm and at week 8 on delegation
20 min - 4
Hold the week 12 review and agree what support comes next
45 min
Adapt it
Promoted from within the team
Add a conversation in week one about how the relationship with former peers changes, and what stays the same.
Hired from outside
Stretch weeks two and three to four weeks; learning the business takes longer than learning the team.
For shift-based teams
Hold one-to-ones across shifts in week one, including nights, before setting the rhythm.
Free companion
The first difficult conversation guide
A preparation sheet and script for the five conversations new managers most often avoid, from missed deadlines to former peers.
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From the practitioner
Most new managers were promoted for being the best at the job, so they keep doing the job and quietly become a bottleneck. The plan’s real purpose is to give them permission, in writing, to stop doing the work and start building the team that does it.
Questions
What should a new manager do in the first 90 days?
Listen to every team member in the first week, learn how the team’s work flows in weeks two and three, set a weekly rhythm in week four, start delegating and giving feedback by week eight, and review progress against three agreed outcomes at week twelve.
Who should own the first-time manager plan?
The new manager writes it and their director agrees it. HR provides the template and checks that the week 12 review happens.
What is the most common mistake new managers make?
Continuing to do their old job instead of building the team’s ability to do it. The plan addresses this directly in weeks five to eight.
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Weekly operating review
The agenda, metric sheet and action log a leadership team uses to run its weekly review.
Put this to work inside your organization
A practitioner can adapt it to how you operate and embed it with your team, starting with a diagnostic.
