A new boss!
A new challenge and a new opportunity.
Regardless of the quality of the relationship you had with your former boss, you are best off assuming that there will be changes – and remaining open-minded about those.
If your new boss is an insider, then maybe you already have a relationship that you can build on.
But a new boss from the outside is a special situation. While a boss transition brings undeniable disruption, it also delivers a rare gift: a completely clean slate. Here are some ideas from a recent article in Harvard Business Review on how to grab the steering wheel and make the transition work for you:
1. Your First Impression. A new manager has no history with your past mistakes, old patterns, or previous workplace struggles. Because people form lasting judgments within seconds—a psychological phenomenon known as “thin-slicing” – you must be intentional about your visible behaviors from day one. Decide what you want to be known for moving forward.
2. Provide an Executive Briefing. Your new boss is likely drinking from a firehose, navigating enormous complexity while trying to evaluate their new team. Help them orient faster by sending a concise, well-crafted briefing before your first meeting.
3. Decode Their Working Style Fast. Don’t wait for your new boss to volunteer their operating preferences. Proactively initiate a conversation early on to align your workflows. Ask targeted questions to clear up any ambiguity:
- What are your top priorities in the short and medium term?
- How often do you want to meet and what would you like me to prepare for each meeting?
- How would you like us to communicate – email, text, phone, Slack?
4. Choose Cohesion Over Competition. Leadership transitions often trigger a survival instinct among colleagues, leading to political jockeying for position and resources. Resist this pull. Reach out to your peers proactively to resolve overlapping responsibilities before your manager walks into them. Standing out as a unifying, mature team player builds immediate executive trust.
Taking a passive “wait-and-see” approach during a transition is a major risk. By actively managing up, you can successfully turn leadership uncertainty into a powerful launchpad for your career.
*Ideas for this blog taken from: Smith, D. D. “The Keys to Succeeding Under a New Manager,” Harvard Business Review online, May 18, 2026.
