06/13/2026
Joining or building an executive team is one of the most consequential moments in a leadership career — and one of the most underprepared for.
HBR's Executive Playbook lays out how new C-suite leaders earn trust, credibility, and real influence in their first months on the team. The piece reframes onboarding as a deliberate strategic move, not a posture of waiting and watching.
For any leader stepping into a new senior role this year, the questions worth asking on day one: Where is alignment fragile? Where is the team avoiding decisions? Whose trust do I need first, and why?
The best executives I have worked with do not arrive with answers. They arrive with better questions — and the discipline to listen before they move.
Read more:
https://hbr.org/2026/01/new-to-the-executive-team-start-here