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30-60-90 Day Plans for Managers and Leaders · Enhance.training

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: A clear 3060 90 day plan gives you a much better chance of delivering value adding results in your first few months of a new management role.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_00: And you'll have less stress and anxiety along the way.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we're going to take you through when you should create your 3060 90 day plan and we're going to cover seven key areas that you should include in your plan no matter what business you are joining.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: And at the end of the podcast, we will give you our recommendations for further reading and where you can find some example 3060 90 day plans.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: My name is Jess Coles, and I've had to deliver quickly in many jobs, including multiple turnarounds and high growth situations at manager to director level, and a plan has really helped me.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: If you're new to this podcast, enhance.training provides online business courses to help professionals, managers, and business owners improve their performance.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: If you like this podcast, please share it with others and visit us at enhanced.training.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: Today I'm sharing my tips and experience of creating successful 3060 90-day plans.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: A plan is particularly useful for managers and leaders going into a new role, and a plan will make your early months easier and more successful.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: And to give you a bit of a background, a survey of 210 fortuned 500 companies found the average mid-level manager takes 6.2 months to become a net contributor to their organization.
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  SPEAKER_00: I.e.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: they work for 6.2 months before the value they create outweighs their costs.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Imagine the benefit of getting that 6.2 months down to 3 or maybe 4 months.
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  SPEAKER_00: How pleased would your manager be?
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  SPEAKER_00: And would you be earmarked for the high achiever list, for example?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: As we all know, first impressions count, and those first few months impact the rest of your time in the new role.
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  SPEAKER_00: So when should you create your 30, 60, 90 day plan?
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Well, two obvious points to create the plan for a manager or a leader are firstly during the interview process.
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  SPEAKER_00: An interview question asking about your plans in the first 30, 60, 90 days often separates the good managers and leaders from the okay managers and leaders.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: If you are going for a manager level role, spend some time preparing for this question.
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  SPEAKER_00: In the early stages of the recruitment process, you won't have that much information, so your planning might be fairly generic.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: As you progress through the interview stages and learn more, your plan should become more detailed and clearer.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you don't prepare for this question and it is asked, you could be out of the running, so don't get caught out.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: The second obvious point to create your plan would be as you start a new management or leadership role.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, well done to get that role or get that promotion.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_00: The excitement is great.
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  SPEAKER_00: The pressure to deliver in your new role is a little less so though.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: However, getting a good plan in place will help reduce the stress and anxiety you may have about delivering.
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  SPEAKER_00: Hopefully, you've created a high-level plan during the interview process if that's applicable.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: As you start your new role or before you start your new role, you should refine this as much as possible.
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  SPEAKER_00: To do this, you probably need more information, so think about firstly asking for more information to be sent to you before you start.
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  SPEAKER_00: Maybe go into the office for a day to meet your team and colleagues.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Go through the company's strategy and goals and work out what you need to deliver to support these.
• 3:39
  SPEAKER_00: Take any actions that allow you to find out more and spend time thinking about how you might plan the first few months of your role.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: As you get more information, update your plan, add more detail to your plan so you've got the best plan you can have before you start.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: We're now going to cover seven key points or areas to include in your 3060-90 day plan.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_00: The first point is to match your plan to the situation.
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  SPEAKER_00: Most of us want to deliver value to the company as quickly as possible.
• 4:13
  SPEAKER_00: Some areas of your plan will be common to all companies, such as building relationships with colleagues.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Other areas will be specific to the company and your role within the company.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: Make sure your plan is tailored to the situation.
• 4:27
  SPEAKER_00: Some areas for you to think about to tailor your plan include firstly, what is the strategy of the company?
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  SPEAKER_00: Second, what part does your team play in delivering the strategy?
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  SPEAKER_00: Three, is the company in a steady state situation or is it in high growth or is it in a crisis?
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  SPEAKER_00: And how will this impact my priorities?
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  SPEAKER_00: Four, what are the key deliverables from the team to the other areas in the business?
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  SPEAKER_00: Five, what are the key priorities for the team now?
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  SPEAKER_00: And what are the ongoing priorities?
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  SPEAKER_00: And six, what are the immediate pressures on the team?
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  SPEAKER_00: Seven, what projects are the team involved in delivering now?
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  SPEAKER_00: And eight, do I have enough resources and the right resources to deliver the results needed?
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: And of course how quickly you need to make an impact should also be considered.
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  SPEAKER_00: For instance, in situations like startups or in turnarounds, you'll need to construct new ways of doing things and do this quickly.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_00: However, when you're in a business in a much steadier state, you have more time and also incremental improvement is needed, not wholesale change.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: The second point is to set clear goals for the team and individuals.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: When you are clear about what you want to achieve with a team, you can then set goals and objectives for each individual and the team overall.
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  SPEAKER_00: By setting out your expectations and explaining why you have chosen these goals and objectives, this provides each team member with a direction of travel.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: They can then focus their efforts on achieving the goals set out.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: An even more inclusive step could be to explain where you want to get to and ask the team to create the steps and the milestones of how to get there.
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  SPEAKER_00: This creates even more buy-in as the team members own the plan alongside you.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_00: The third point is to focus on building relationships and building your team's culture.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_00: In every new role, you'll need to build relationships.
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  SPEAKER_00: If you have been promoted, you may have to change how you are perceived within the existing relationships, which can be a lot harder.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: When you start a new role, think about how you want to build relationships with, your team, your line manager and their peer group, your peer group, and any other stakeholders of your team's output, and those that supply your team with information etc.
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_00: that you'll rely on to do your role.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: If you are new into the company, building relationships should be one of your first priorities.
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  SPEAKER_00: After all, you'll rely on these relationships to do your job well.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: And here's four tips to start.
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  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, book in one-to-one meetings with all of your team members.
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  SPEAKER_00: Second, hold regular weekly or monthly team meetings with a consistent agenda.
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  SPEAKER_00: Three, book in one-to-one meetings with all the stakeholders you'll be working with or want to work with.
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  SPEAKER_00: And four, invite individuals or small groups to a coffee or a lunch to get to know them in a much more informal setting.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: When you're building relationships, work on both the professional and the personal aspects of these relationships.
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  SPEAKER_00: The fourth area is to focus on building your team's capability.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_00: Your success as a manager or a leader of the team will depend on the success of the team overall.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: When you first start your new role, we suggest these four areas are ones to consider.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: Firstly, work out the strengths and weaknesses of your team members and do this quickly.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Secondly, identify any skills or experience gaps within the team and create a plan to address them.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: And third, set out your expectations for the team.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: For any behavioural expectations, you must live and display these behaviours first.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: Actions speak louder than words, and if you're not prepared to follow the expectations you set, why should your team?
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  SPEAKER_00: And fourth, you must deal with poor performance or poor attitudes constructively and quickly.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_00: Do not put off taking action if you have these problems within the team.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: I know from experience that investing in your team produces great returns.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Why don't you put in place a programme to develop the skills and ability of your team?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: A couple of suggestions would include one, you know formal classman training courses.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: Two, informal or on-the-job training, three a mentoring and coaching program, and four body systems where an experienced member of the team helps a less experienced member of the team.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: There are lots of different options in this area.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: The better your team in terms of what they deliver and how they deliver it and in terms of the attitude or culture, then the better your management and leadership will be viewed by your manager and their peer group.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: The fifth point is to target getting some early wins.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: Nothing helps your reputation and that of your team more than delivering results.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: The quicker you can deliver results, the better.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: You are in a new role and possibly a new company.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: So you're in the best possible position to ask lots of questions and challenge the status quo.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: Use your fresh eyes to try and identify improvements to what's already happening.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to your team and those around you for clues as to what is not working and what is working.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: Follow up and investigate what is not working.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: Keep asking, is there an opportunity to gain a quick win for all here?
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: Another question to keep asking people is what should we keep, what should we change, and what should we stop?
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: This question gets people thinking, and it isn't too risky for that person to provide answers to their manager.
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_00: Improve the processes, approaches and areas that are causing the most problems first and try and involve the team to do this.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: The sixth area to watch is avoiding the trap of thinking that authority alone is enough.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: As I'm sure you know, a relationship and trust are needed to persuade people to do things, especially new things.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: There are lots of ways to approach building both.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_00: How will you go about doing this?
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_00: One of our favourite tips is to provide help or to do favours for your stakeholders.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: If you deliver for them, they are much more likely to deliver for you when you ask for a favour in return.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: And staff members do tasks much more quickly and usually do them better for those managers they like.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_00: Being friendly, diplomatic, approachable and willing to help can win over a lot of staff members happy to help you in return.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_00: Always manage your own behaviour and how you come across carefully.
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  SPEAKER_00: Lastly, the seventh area is thinking about how you will measure your own progress.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_00: Within your plan, set out how you're going to measure your progress with each of the aspects of the plan.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: How will you know if you're making good, okay, or poor progress?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: Build in milestones and hold yourself accountable for your progress.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, you don't have to share this information with anybody else.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_00: Reward yourself for each milestone past, even if it's just a small gift to yourself or whatever works to keep you motivated and focused on hitting your milestones and goals.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: Good luck in writing your plan.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: And if you'd like some further reading, we recommend The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: This excellent book provides lots of great advice and examples of how to create and achieve a great 30, 60, 90 day plan, and it really helps you get off to a flying start in a new role.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_00: Remember, spending a few hours planning out your first few months at the start of a new role will be a huge help to your success.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Make the time.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: And for more information, visit us at enhance.training and select learning hubs for examples of 3060-90 day plans.
• 12:36
  SPEAKER_00: If you like this podcast, please share it with friends and colleagues and visit us at enhanced.training to find more articles, podcasts, and videos on various aspects of running businesses and job hunting.
• 12:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for listening, and I look forward to speaking to you again soon.