Stop Hitting the Ground Running

Why the pressure to perform fast can undermine long-term leadership impact and what to do instead.

The first 90 days in a new role are often framed as a race. Prove yourself. Make quick wins. Show them they made the right call.

But what if that urgency is setting leaders up to fail?

In my work supporting leaders through transitions, I see a recurring pattern: people rush to do before they’ve had time to see. 

They move fast, hoping speed will build credibility. But speed without context often leads to shallow wins, misread dynamics, and avoidable friction.

Transitions are full of pressure. But they’re also full of possibility. 

And starting strong doesn’t have to mean starting fast.

Why “hitting the ground running” is overrated

Leaders entering a new role bring experience, but they’re stepping into a system they don’t yet fully understand.

Under pressure, the brain seeks certainty. We default to what has worked before. However, transitions require something else: sensemaking, not just execution.

When leaders skip the learning phase, they risk:

• Over-relying on past playbooks

• Misreading cultural signals or stakeholder priorities

• Jumping into strategy before trust has been built

The cost of early missteps can be high and often preventable with a more intentional start.

What entering well actually looks like

Here are four practices I’ve seen help leaders enter with clarity, presence, and traction, not just speed:

1. Observe before you act

Start with thoughtful observation.

Map the system.

Understand how decisions are made, who holds influence, what’s valued, and what’s avoided. Ask:

What’s rewarded here?

What’s left unsaid?

Where are the tensions that no one is naming?

This kind of inquiry often reveals more than formal onboarding ever can.

2. Build relationships before strategies

Early trust is a force multiplier. Prioritize building strong relationships across your team, with peers, and key stakeholders. Learn how people work, not just what they do.

3. Hold the paradox of clarity and openness

Enter with perspective, but stay curious.

You were hired for a reason; your ideas and experience matter. But be open enough to see what’s really in front of you.

First impressions can mislead, especially in complex systems.

4. Redefine success in the first 90 days

Success isn’t about proving yourself immediately. 

It’s about understanding the landscape, building alignment, and laying a foundation for sustainable impact.

If you're navigating a shift in role, identity, or leadership style, I explored that more deeply in this piece on transition as inner work. And if you're supporting others through change, you might find this guide to the different shapes transitions take helpful too.

What organizations can do to support smarter starts

Transitions don’t just depend on the leader. They’re shaped by the environment they step into and by the organization's signals from day one.

Here are three ways to support leaders more intentionally:

1. Normalize sensemaking as part of the job

Make it clear that early listening, learning, and relationship-building aren’t delays—they’re strategic steps.

Invite leaders to share what they’re noticing, not just what they’re delivering.

2. Help leaders surface what’s beneath the surface

Support new leaders in learning the organization, not just its systems, but its people, language, and logic. Go beyond task onboarding to include stakeholder mapping, listening tours, and cultural sensemaking.

Help leaders notice what’s beneath the surface:

• What’s assumed but never said?

• Where are the power dynamics quiet but consequential?

• What has history taught people to be cautious about?

Done well, these practices accelerate a leader’s ability to understand the story they’re walking into, not just the job they’re expected to do.

3. Support their ability to read the system

Offer the leader a trusted sparring partner, someone who can name dynamics, share informal norms, and support sensemaking without shortcutting it. 

Someone they can safely ask: Am I reading this right?

It’s about helping the leader read the system more clearly, sooner.

4. Model the pacing from the top

When senior leaders show that deep integration is valued more than fast execution, it changes the culture. 

Leaders don’t feel like they have to perform their readiness; they can build it.

Final thoughts

The early days of a leadership transition are a time to show up and also to slow down. 

To build credibility, yes, but not at the expense of understanding.

Whether you’re stepping into something new or helping someone else do it, what sets a strong foundation isn’t speed.

It’s clarity. Presence. And the patience to begin well.

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This article is part of a three-part series on leadership transitions, exploring what really changes when leaders step into larger roles, why familiar strengths often become ineffective, and how leaders can grow into the identity their new context demands.

Next in the series:

1. Why First-Time Senior Leaders Struggle: The Three Shifts That Matter Most

2. New Role, Same You? Not Quite.

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About the Author

Nazly Frias is the founder of Leadership Impact, a boutique leadership advisory practice specializing in executive teams and senior leaders in impact-driven professional service firms and organizations.

With over 15 years of leadership experience across global impact consulting firms and public innovation labs, Nazly combines the credibility of an insider with the clarity of an external advisor and executive coach.

She helps senior leaders and executive teams navigate complex challenges—from individual performance breakthroughs to organizational transformations—by leveraging real-world leadership experience with evidence-based practices and emerging leadership approaches.

Originally from Colombia, Nazly works with clients across the globe in English and Spanish and is based in Berlin.

Get in touch with Nazly