Your First 90 Days as a Leader: Build Relationships, Build Momentum, Build Your BASE
Stepping into a leadership role is one of the most defining transitions in a career. Whether you’re leading people for the first time or stepping into a bigger team, those first 90 days shape everything that follows—your credibility, your culture, and your team’s confidence in you.
Most new leaders think success comes from having the perfect plan. But the truth is more nuanced. A powerful mantra to guide your early days is: Plan the work > Work the plan.
Why? Because planning forces clarity. It forces intention. It forces you to understand your people, your environment, and your priorities before you start executing. A plan is not a rigid checklist—it’s a compass. And the compass only works when you’re deeply connected to the people you’re leading.
At the heart of every successful 90‑day transition is one thing: Real relationships. Not surface‑level rapport. Not transactional check‑ins. But genuine, human connection.
And that’s where the BASE leadership framework becomes your anchor.
🔶 The BASES™ Leadership Framework
Balanced • Ambitious • Sociable • Empathetic • Systematic These five leadership identities help new leaders navigate their first 90 days with confidence, clarity, and authenticity.
Each style plays a role in your early success—and the strongest leaders learn to use all five.
🔷 Month 1: Lead Self
Your focus: Clarity, grounding, and understanding the landscape
Before you lead others, you must understand yourself—your strengths, your blind spots, and your natural leadership tendencies. This is where BASE begins to shape your approach.
Balanced – Your Anchor Point
In your first month, you need versatility. You’re learning the terrain, reading the room, and adjusting your stance. Balanced leaders excel at:
Situational awareness, adapting to different personalities & navigating complexity
Systematic – Your Technical Expert
You’re absorbing information, analysing processes, and mapping the route ahead. Systematic leaders bring:
Analytical depth, strategic clarity & quality assurance
This is where you plan the work
Your Month 1 Priorities
Meet every team member
Understand expectations from your manager
Review goals, KPIs, and performance
Build your personal operating rhythm
Identify early risks and opportunities
This month is about building your foundation—your BASE.
🔷 Month 2: Lead Others
Your focus: Trust, communication, and relationship building
This is where the real work begins. Leadership is a relationship, not a role. And your success depends on how deeply you connect with your people.
Sociable – Your Route Partner
This style becomes essential in Month 2. Sociable leaders:
Build trust, strengthen team cohesion & communicate with clarity and warmth
You’re not just leading tasks—you’re leading humans.
Empathetic – Your Safety Anchor
Empathy is your credibility builder. Empathetic leaders:
Tune into team signals, create psychological safety & support people through change
This is where you show your team that you’re not just here to manage them—you’re here to support them.
Your Month 2 Priorities
Hold meaningful 1:1s, understand motivations and frustrations & demonstrate reliability through follow‑through
This month is about building trust—your strongest currency as a leader.
🔷 Month 3: Lead Teams
Your focus: Alignment, momentum, and collective performance
Now that you’ve built individual relationships, it’s time to shape the team as a whole.
Ambitious – Your Lead Climber
This is where ambition becomes your engine. Ambitious leaders:
Set clear direction, accelerate results & Drive bold transformation
You’re no longer just learning—you’re leading.
Balanced + Systematic + Sociable + Empathetic + Ambitious = Team Momentum
By Month 3, you’re integrating all BASE styles and this is where your leadership identity becomes visible.
Your Month 3 Priorities
Align the team around shared goals
Identify and deliver quick wins
Strengthen team rituals and rhythms
Remove friction and blockers
Celebrate progress
This month is about building momentum—your team’s and your own.
🔶 Why Relationships Are the Real Secret to 90‑Day Success
You can have the best plan in the world, but without trust, it won’t matter. You can have the clearest strategy, but without connection, no one will follow it. You can have the strongest ambition, but without empathy, people will resist it.
Your first 90 days are not about proving yourself—they’re about connecting yourself to the people you lead.
When you build real relationships:
People tell you the truth
They give you context
They support your decisions
They follow your direction
They feel safe to perform
Relationships turn your plan into progress.
🔶 Bringing It All Together
Your first 90 days are your leadership launchpad. And the BASES™ framework gives you the five identities you need to lead with authenticity and impact.
This is how authentic leaders are built. Book your FREE consultation session today!
