Where is My Leader?
There's a careful balance in onboarding between positively stretching a new hire to build confidence, and inundating them with work that distracts from developing their full capabilities.
Throwing your new teammate into the deep end during their first 90 days means overlooking a valuable chance to cultivate their potential, especially for key Executive Assistant roles.
I had a epiphany while talking to an EA who is training her successor right now. Her feedback on the company's leader was that she only received 30-minutes of 1-1 time during her first week, and this time was constantly deprioritized for other meetings. To better serve his new EA, this same leader has hired us for coaching.
If you want this strategic partner to serve you well, you have to INVEST. Here's where to start:
Prioritize spending time with them. A new hire will recognize when their 1-1s are valued. Treat those meetings as sacred, and ensure daily huddles include genuine connection beyond the week's to-dos.
Authentically Care about them too. Ask about their hopes, dreams, and struggles. You should also know every name/face in their family unit, because they know yours.
Share vision with them. Connect their daily tasks to the organization's long-term goals, and highlight how their contributions directly benefit you. Show them their work has a meaningful purpose—because it does.
As a leader, you've taken a responsibility to cultivate genuine relationships. You can't expect someone to serve you effectively if they feel unseen or unheard. Invest in connection, provide strategic challenges, and understand that a paycheck alone will not inspire their best work.
Fanni Gambero
Co-Founder of XM Talent Pros
Chief Business Xcelerator of XM Performance
If you've read this far and started sweating, it sounds like you have work to do! It's time to get vulnerable to XCELERATE, and that's not easy. If you need help building relationship capital on your team, I have a couple tips up my sleeve.