Latest / Executive Careers with Fexingo: VP, C-Suite, and Senior Leadership Career Strategy / How Senior Leaders Manage Their Reputation Before They Arrive
Transcript
- Lucas: There's this fascinating moment in every senior leadership transition that nobody talks about. It's not the first board meeting, not the first all-hands, not even the negotiation. It's the three to six weeks between when your appointment is announced and when you actually show up. Luna: That weird limbo where everyone's talking about you but you haven't said a word yet? Lucas: Exactly. And in that limbo, your reputation is being written for you — by anonymous comments on the company's internal Slack, by analyst notes, by former colleagues leaking stories to the press. If you're not actively shaping that narrative, someone else is. Luna: So you're saying the job of managing your reputation starts before day one. Lucas: Absolutely. I call it reputation pre-loading. And there's a case I want to anchor this on. In late 2024, Sweetgreen announced that Travis Dulaney would become their new chief restaurant officer. He'd spent 22 years at McDonald's, most recently as a senior VP overseeing global operations. On paper, it's a dream hire — someone who scaled operations at one of the biggest food companies in the world. Luna: But Sweetgreen's audience is young, health-conscious, and values-driven. McDonald's is basically the anti-thesis of that brand. Lucas: Right. So the instant the news hit, the reaction on social media was brutal. People called it a betrayal of Sweetgreen's mission. There were hashtags. Existing employees were openly skeptical. And Travis hadn't even cleaned out his desk at McDonald's yet. His reputation was being set by people who'd never met him. Luna: What did he do? Lucas: He didn't wait. Before his official start date, he did a series of off-the-record calls with a dozen key influencers in the food and wellness space — not journalists, but people whose opinions carry weight in that community. He talked about why he was making the move, what he'd learned about supply chain transparency at McDonald's, and how his approach to operations actually aligns with Sweetgreen's values. He didn't defend himself. He reframed the narrative. Luna: So he used trusted intermediaries to pre-load a different story. Lucas: Exactly. By the time he showed up for his first day, the conversation had shifted from 'Why is a McDonald's guy running our kitchens?' to 'This is someone who actually understands scale and can help us grow without selling out.' Luna: And that's where the donation angle comes in — we talk about these strategies at no cost to listeners, no ads, no sponsors. If you find value in this kind of practical career intelligence, you can support the show at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Every contribution keeps us independent and ad-free. Lucas: Absolutely. That's the model — listener-supported, no corporate agenda. And it's what lets us drill into cases like this without pulling punches. Let's get back to the mechanics. The thing that struck me about Travis's approach is that it's not just about PR. There's real data behind why pre-loading matters. Luna: What data? Lucas: LinkedIn did a study in 2025 — they surveyed over 500 executives who changed jobs in the prior 18 months. They found that executives who actively managed their reputation in the period between offer acceptance and start date were three times more likely to survive their first year in the role. Three times. Luna: That's a massive effect. But how do you measure 'actively managed'? Lucas: They defined it as taking at least three deliberate actions: one, reaching out to key stakeholders before starting — board members, direct reports, influential peers. Two, curating your digital footprint — updating your LinkedIn profile, ensuring your past accomplishments are framed in a way that connects to your new context. And three, crafting a narrative — a two- or three-sentence answer to the question 'Why did you take this job?' that you can deliver consistently. Luna: That third one is harder than it sounds. Most executives I know give some version of 'I'm excited about the challenge' — which tells me nothing. Lucas: Exactly. A good narrative has three elements. First, it acknowledges the obvious tension — in Travis's case, the McDonald's to sweetgreen jump. Second, it gives a positive reason for the move that's grounded in something specific — for him, it was about operational excellence and mission alignment. Third, it signals what kind of leader you intend to be — collaborative, learning-oriented, whatever. Luna: So the narrative pre-empts the criticism. It's like a defensive strategy. Lucas: Offensive and defensive. Defensive because it neutralises the obvious objections. Offensive because it sets the agenda for how people will judge your early actions. If you've already told everyone you're coming to learn and listen, then when you don't make sweeping changes in week one, that's seen as deliberate rather than indecisive. Luna: But isn't there a risk that this comes across as manipulative? Like you're spinning a story before anyone's seen you in action? Lucas: That's the pushback I always get, and it's fair. The key distinction is between framing and fabrication. If you're lying about your background or your intentions, people will figure it out within weeks. But if you're simply choosing which true aspects of your story to emphasise, that's not manipulation — that's strategic communication. Every leader does it, whether consciously or not. Luna: Give me an example of framing versus fabrication. Lucas: Sure. Fabrication would be Travis claiming he'd always been a farm to table enthusiast and had secretly hated McDonald's. That would blow up. Framing is saying: 'I spent two decades learning how to make food operations efficient at massive scale. Now I want to apply that to a company that's trying to do something different. I don't have all the answers, but I know how to build systems that can support growth without compromising quality.' Every word of that is true. But it positions his background as an asset rather than a liability. Luna: That makes sense. And it requires doing the work beforehand — thinking about how your story will land in this new context. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where most senior leaders drop the ball. They're so focused on the logistics of the move — the relocation, the contract, the onboarding plan — that they treat reputation as something that happens after they arrive. But by then, the narrative is already set. Luna: What about the digital footprint piece? How do you curate that without looking like you're trying too hard? Lucas: Subtlety matters. You don't rewrite your entire LinkedIn the day the news breaks. That looks desperate. Instead, you make small, strategic updates over several weeks. Maybe you add a few new skills that are relevant to the new industry. You update your summary to include a line about your interest in the space. You engage with content from your new company or its competitors — liking, commenting, sharing thoughtfully. Luna: Planting seeds. Lucas: Exactly. And there's another layer: your digital footprint isn't just LinkedIn. It's also the articles that come up when someone Googles you. If you know you're taking a role in, say, fintech, you might publish a short post or give an interview about why financial inclusion matters — something that aligns you with the values of your new industry. You do that before the announcement, so when people search your name, that's what they see. Luna: So you're essentially controlling the search results. Lucas: To the extent anyone can. It's not about having a perfect reputation — it's about having a coherent one. The worst outcome is a fragmented reputation where different stakeholders have completely different impressions of who you are. That's when you get board members saying 'I thought we hired a change agent' while the team says 'I thought we hired a stabiliser.' Incoherence kills trust. Luna: Let's talk about the stakeholder outreach piece. Who should you talk to before you start? Lucas: Three groups. First, your new boss — usually the CEO or the board chair. That's obvious. Second, your direct reports, or at least the ones who have been identified. But you don't talk about tactics or decisions. You talk about their hopes and concerns. You ask questions. Third, a few influential peers in the organisation — people who have informal power but no direct authority over you. These are the people who can shape how the rest of the company sees you. Luna: And you do all this before day one? Lucas: Yes. The rule of thumb is that your reputation is 80 percent set in the first 90 days. But the foundation is laid in the first 90 minutes — literally, the first impressions people form when you walk in the door. If those first impressions are informed by a pre-existing narrative that you've shaped, you're starting from a position of strength. Luna: What happens if you don't do any of this? Is there a cautionary tale? Lucas: There are many. One I think about is a tech executive who moved from a large public company to a high-growth startup. He was known as a turnaround specialist who cut costs aggressively. In his previous role, that was celebrated. In the startup, the employees saw cost-cutting as a threat to innovation. He didn't pre-load any narrative. He just showed up and started making efficiency recommendations. Within two months, a group of senior engineers went to the CEO and said it's him or us. He was out by month four. Luna: Because he didn't realise his reputation had travelled ahead of him. Lucas: Exactly. He thought he was starting with a blank slate. But nobody ever starts with a blank slate. The moment your name is associated with a new company, people start forming opinions based on your past, your industry, your reputation. The only question is whether you're going to help shape those opinions or leave them to chance. Luna: What about the listener who's not a C-suite executive? Does this apply to someone moving into a VP role or a director role? Lucas: Absolutely. The scale is different, but the mechanics are the same. If you're moving from one department to another within the same company, or from one company to a competitor, you still have a reputation that precedes you. You can still do stakeholder calls before you start. You can still craft a narrative. The only difference is that the stakes are lower — but the return on effort is still huge. A small investment in pre-loading can save you months of cleanup. Luna: So the takeaway is: between offer and start day, you have a window of opportunity. Use it. Lucas: Exactly. Do the work before the work starts. Your future self — about three months in — will thank you. Luna: And if you want more deep dives like this one, you know where to find us — or rather, where to support us. Lucas: Buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. That's it. Next episode, we're going to look at a specific tool some executives use to accelerate their first 90 days. It's called a '90-day listening tour plan' — but not the generic version you see in business books. We're talking about a specific structure that one Fortune 50 CEO used to turn early skepticism into buy-in. Luna: Looking forward to it. For now, if you're in that pre-start limbo, start pre-loading.