Ask and Listen: Engage stakeholders early and set the tone for your leadership

Here are some useful questions to ask yourself as you tackle your first few weeks of meetings with internal and external stakeholders:

1.  What’s your plan of attack for meeting as many stakeholders as you can within the next four to six weeks? How will you organize yourself to do this seamlessly?

2. Which members of your senior team will you take to each meeting? Will these meetings create an opportunity to also learn about your direct reports’ leadership style and how they relate to employees and customers?

3.  What are the key themes emerging from your early discussions? Are there any low hanging fruits that you can take action on with your team?

4.  How will you share what you’ve learned with your team, board and employees? Is there an opportunity to use this process as a way to rally people behind your leadership?

5.  How will you make sure that you’re being an effective listener throughout this process? What tips or behaviors should you deploy to make sure you’re self-monitoring your own performance and ability to draw out people?

6.  Is there a stakeholder group out there that is critical to your future success but is typically excluded from high-level conversations? How can you engage with them?