The Leadership Long Game: 5 Maxims for Success Beyond the First 90 Days
Playing the leadership long game successfully requires more than a series of moments in time; it requires a guiding philosophy.
We’ve all heard it – every time we start a new high-stakes role: “let’s develop your 30-60-90-day plan.” Focusing on the first 90 days is a common way to start strong during this critical early period. Indeed, if you are a leader in this position, you must make first impressions, assess the landscape, develop insight, and even need to make important decisions (albeit without a lot of data) – so, having a plan helps.
However, while focusing on the first 90 days is helpful for thinking about the front end of a role, ascribing too much attention can cloud strategic long-term thinking. Once that time passes, you face an inevitable question: what happens next?
This is where what I call a "long-view philosophy" comes in. It's about seeing your role as a full journey, not just the first leg of a race. It forces you to think about what comes next and builds a more sustainable, impactful tenure. Because let's be honest: the most important work often happens long after Day 90.
As an organizational scientist, I don't just say this based on gut feeling. For the last five decades, researchers have been mapping what a leader’s journey really looks like. Let's look at what the research says and how a long-view can help you navigate the entire arc of your role.
The Five Moments of a Leadership Role
While every leader's path is unique, a surprising number of common themes emerge. Think of it less as a rigid timeline and more like five distinct but often overlapping moments within the leadership journey.
Researchers John Gabarro (1987), Donald Hambrick and Greg Fukutomi (1991), Larry Greiner, Thomas Cummings, Arvind Bhambri (2003), and more recently Claudius Hildebrand and Robert Stark (2024) have all mapped what happens as leaders navigate new roles in the long-term, and below is a synthesis of what they've found:
Moment 1: Introductions and Quick Wins (First 3 months to 2 years)
This is the classic 90-day plan territory where the role begins and leaders make their first moves. Greiner and colleagues even note what happens before entrance; leaders may negotiate their mandate. Once in their role, Gabarro describes an early learning period leaders experience, followed by what all authors describe as gaining quick wins by solving glaring problems. This is the moment where leaders make their early mark and is most relevant to strategizing for the first 90 days.
Moment 2: Evaluation of Initial Moves (4 months to 2 years)
Once the early days pass, leaders move into a more evaluative stage, what Gabarro describes as “Immersion,” with less change and more learning. Hildebrand and Stark explain that leaders may reassess and make adjustments during this moment in their journey. Greiner and colleagues explain that leaders use this period of time to engage their top teams to develop vision. And Hambrick and Fukutomi explain that leaders during this moment validate whether their initial mandate was correct, and if not, enter a phase of experimentation.
Moment 3: Informed Change and Results (3 months to 2 years)
Following evaluation, the researchers describe a moment of more intense and informed change. Gabarro shares that leaders act on their deeper understanding, and Hambrick and Fukutomi describe change guided by a theme that impacts areas such as structure, staffing, and initiatives. Greiner and colleagues explain that leaders become more directive, and Hildebrand and Stark explain that early moves begin to show results and build trust.
Moment 4: Support and Reinforcement (3 to 9 months)
This moment is discussed by fewer researchers but is distinct enough to mention. After a period of major change, the focus shifts to making that change stick. Gabarro calls this stage “Consolidation” and Greiner and colleagues explain that leaders communicate to reinforce new directions, support teams through the transition, and empower people at all levels to own the new way of working.
Moment 5: Maturation and Legacy (Remaining time in role)
In the final moment, the intensity of change often tapers as leaders consider the end of their tenure. At this point, Gabarro shared that leaders possess a deep, nuanced understanding of the organization. The risk here, as Hambrick and Fukutomi and Hildebrand and Stark point out, is that boredom, fatigue, or complacency can set in. In addition, Hildebrand and Stark discuss a leader’s dual mandate: pushing for performance, while preparing for departure.
The 5 Maxims of the Leadership Long Game
Playing the leadership long game successfully requires more than a series of moments in time; it requires a guiding philosophy. The following five maxims are foundational principles for any leader looking to make an impact that lasts well beyond their initial entry. Internalizing them helps you move from simply managing the start of your role to strategically architecting your entire tenure.
The First 90 Days Are Just the Prologue. The initial plan covers only a fraction of the first “moment”. Critical challenges, like reflecting on your early moves in Moment 2, await just around the corner. When this next stage isn't anticipated, it becomes difficult to communicate a clear path forward, often at the exact moment when stakeholders are most eager for direction.
The Challenges Deepen Over Time. Quick wins often come from solving more obvious problems. But as you learn more, the challenges you face become more complex and systemic. A potential misstep here is assuming the ease of early victories will continue, which can lead to underestimating the deep, thoughtful change management required for the tougher, more meaningful work later on.
High-Stakes Roles Are Inherently Transformational. Change isn't just a part of the job; it is the job. Acknowledging this from day one is critical. It allows you to frame your leadership not as a series of disruptive shakeups, but as a balanced, intentional process of honoring what works while improving what doesn't. A long-view framework helps you design and communicate this journey.
Leadership Strategy is Emergent, Not Static. Your most effective program or "theme," as Hambrick and Fukutomi call it, isn't something you can define entirely in the first month. It emerges as you continuously learn, evaluate, and engage with your team and organization. These models remind us that leadership isn't about arriving at a final destination; it's about skillfully navigating the journey of development.
Your Path Won’t Come in a Straight Line. Just like the first 90 days don’t capture the full picture of what any given new leader may experience, these models don’t capture the full scope and complexity of your time in role. For instance, when looking at the Moments, it may seem that change only occurs during Moment 1 and 3. However, change is always occurring, just at different levels of intensity. Given this, your rate of change, iterations on change, and movement through change will vary and as Greiner and colleagues point out, you may even need to return to a previous phase depending on what your role entails. You need to navigate the role you’ve been given, not the one in the ideal.
Adopting a Long-View Philosophy
So, how do you put this into practice? The long-view philosophy is simple. It's a mindset rooted in three things:
Acknowledge the Full Timeline: Think beyond the next quarter. Mentally sketch out the full arc of your potential tenure. This is the same long-term strategic planning you do for the business, but applied to your own leadership journey.
Factor in You and Your Situation: The models above can help, but you will need your own model – one that is flexible to your case, that considers these common themes.Your personal leadership style, combined with your organization's unique culture, challenges, and opportunities, will shape your path. Create your own flexible model that considers these themes in your context.
Set Realistic, Evolving Expectations: How can you set expectations when so much is unknown? While KPIs and OKRs can be helpful targets, you also need a parallel dialogue to ensure they are in line with reality. To do this, you need to establish agreements on how you will pursue your mandate. Communicate that this is a process of co-creation and that your strategy will evolve as you learn more together. This builds trust and gives you—and everyone else—the flexibility to adapt.
By socializing this long-view, you shift the dynamic from a one-and-done checklist of items to accomplish in the first 90 days to much more of an iterative journey. This approach helps you:
Demonstrate true strategic thinking.
Avoid being caught flat-footed when the quick wins dry up.
Prevent frontloading your role with unsustainable pressure.
Provide a clear roadmap for success, even when you don’t have all the answers.
Stay open to listening and adapting as you go.
Ultimately, the long-view is a philosophy, a state of mind, a way of thinking. You can practice by taking stock and communicating your thinking, continuously evaluating yourself and the situation, helping others see the world as you see it, and working to see it as they do. Through this, you will come to joint answers and solutions, and the journey and relevant moments in the models will unfold for you, your team and your organization. And by bearing these 5 maxims in mind, you can lead an entire journey, not just survive the start.
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