Beyond the onboarding checklist, focus on your learning and action strategy to drive change with buy-in
In a new role, there’s a lot to do, things like:
Meeting stakeholders
Negotiating expectations
Setting the tone
All important, but only impactful when done well. That’s where a learning and action strategy comes in.
It’s exactly what it sounds like, and a powerful approach for leaders in transition, especially those with a mandate for change.
Learning is about gathering data and understanding your environment. The goal is to gather enough insight to act.
Action is about using what you've learned, like revising a process or shifting priorities. The key is showing your actions are rooted in what you’ve heard.
This process is cyclical: learning informs action, and the outcomes of action create new data for learning. Done well, it becomes a powerful feedback loop.
To be effective, your learning and action strategy should be intentional.
To learn, ask:
What can I learn from stakeholders to better understand the culture, challenges, and opportunities?
What matters most to the success of this organization? What do my boss, peers, and team expect?
How do people here prefer to communicate? What topics or dynamics are especially sensitive?
And consider how you gather this information: Will you use interviews, focus groups, surveys? Who should lead the process to ensure people feel safe being candid?
To act, use what you’ve learned and communicate how your learning is informing your actions as you:
Implement change
Evolve your goals and strategy
Shape your message and communication
As you act, you’ll receive new signals: reactions, behavior changes, word-of-mouth. That’s new data. Feed it back into your learning process and adjust your questions accordingly.
A strong learning and action strategy keeps you agile, helps you update your understanding in real time, and shows others that you’re listening. That builds trust and buy-in.
Want to chat about your learning and action strategy, explore our advisory services: