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15 Proven Rules To Help You Start Strong, Hit The Ground Running & Guide You To Success Faster 

Rule #1: Cheat if you want to start strong & hit the ground running.  

Don’t play fair!  Cheat…by starting your transition well before you officially arrive on day one. Here are five actions you should consider taking to capitalize on this valuable pre-start period.  

Action 1: Take time to disconnect from the old job.  

Brady’s Notes:  In late-January, I announced my intention to take an early retirement from NASA.  As expected, my calendar commitments significantly reduced for the month of February.  This gave me a nice transition time from my job as Deputy Chief Human Capital Officer for NASA and enabled me to lend more focus to the new role at Space Center Houston. 

Action 2: Get a jumpstart on your major onboarding priorities. Consider the high-payback activities. 

Action 3: Prioritize your key influencers.  

Key influencers are those people who can directly influence and impact your performance, your success and how you are perceived in the organization. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that everyone is an influencer.  They’re not.  Follow two guidelines:  

1. Narrow your list of influencers.  You should chunk it down to those absolutely essential to your success.  If you’re not certain if someone is a key influencer, keep them on your list anyway until you’re sure they’re not.  

2. Scope them out online. Use LinkedIn, Facebook and Google as your primary research tools. Find out everything there is to know about these folks – especially those you’ll be interacting with on a regular basis.  

Action 4: Build relationships early.

Do as many meets & greets as humanly possible—before you arrive. In talking with each person,  

• Gather info about them: Ask casual questions about their role, their background, tenure with the organization and the key priorities they’re working against.  
• Get their advice about your role: Specifically: “What would you suggest I do to thrive as a new HR leader in this organization?” and “What do you think my team needs from me to succeed?”   
• Finally, reiterate your enthusiasm about the job and your desire to know them better once you arrive.   

• Speaking of scripting, you should also script a brief introduction and a brief elevator pitch to facilitate these discussions.   

Action 5: If you’re relocating, address needs at your home base. 

If you’re pressed for time and can do nothing else, develop a draft onboarding plan and start building relationships with your key influencers and address your home base needs as soon as you accept the offer.  

Rule #2: Develop Your Own HR Onboarding Plan  

You’re the leader now. Everyone is watching, from your team members to your boss and peers. You want to start strong in your new role.    

There are two actions that you should take simultaneously.  

• Fight those immediate fires in a way that buys you some time. What you absolutely cannot do is totally ignore or completely close yourself off from the inferno of HR issues current facing the organization until you’re 100% ready and fully onboarded. What that means is that you should jump in, grab a hose and fight those fires that you absolutely can with reasonable confidence.  On the others you need to delegate and renegotiate.  
• Schedule blocks of time to execute your onboarding plan. It’s the plan that will ramp you up quickly, familiarize you with your new role and allow you to fully take charge with confidence. Your specific onboarding plan is much more comprehensive and in-depth. But it shouldn’t be complicated. It can be a simple one to two pager that identifies those key priorities, high-payback activities that will get you up to speed quickly.  

1. Meet with your entire team on Day One to introduce yourself in the role.  

2. Meet one-on-one with each of your direct reports within the first week.   

3. Meet with your boss and other key business leaders and clients.  

4. Coordinate with your admin, assistant or chief of staff, if you’re fortunate enough to have one.   

5. Visit with reps in key departments that support your group.  

6. Meet with your finance rep and HRIS, if you have them, and figure out how to access your team’s financial reports and talent/workforce metrics for your client groups.  

7. Determine what major HR company policies and practices you need to understand (i.e. the HRIS platform, the performance review system, employee handbook, etc.). 

8. Learn the status and history of the key HR initiatives you’ll be responsible for.  

The essence of being an effective HR leader is prioritizing what’s most important to accelerate your success. In developing your plan, focus on the “what,” not the “how.” That is, scope out the broad targets you’ll focus on.  

The key is to work through the items in your onboarding plan at the same time that you are fighting fires and doing your job.   

Rule #3: Know the business cold & how your HR role fits  

Pam Fox Rollin, author of 42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role, wrote, “As a new [HR] leader, you can be wrong.  You can be misinformed.  You can be too pessimistic. You can be too optimistic.  But you cannot be clueless about the business.”  

It’s easy to impress your boss, clients and colleagues as the new HR leader, when you’ve impressed them with your knowledge of their business first. Craft a strategic point of view about the business you’re joining and how your role fits.   

Summarize Your HR Charter  

• Link to the Business Strategy:  What is the main problem you’ve been hired to solve?  What HR projects, goals and key initiatives are you expected to lead that will enable the company to achieve its current business strategy?  
• Develop a two-page Strategic Focus.  It requires doing in-depth organizational homework, but is indispensable to your success as a new HR leader.  It should capture:  

• The Organization’s Business  
• The Organization’s Strategy  
• Your HR Charter (and how it aligns to the business)  

Rule #4: Step up & take charge with confidence on day one  

Here is a list of eight take charge, high-trust, credibility-building priorities you should undertake:   

1. Don’t get blindsided on your first day.  Your most important day one priority should be to meet with your boss first, preferably as early in the morning as possible.  Get insight into any recent organizational changes, emerging issues with your new team and any “watch outs” that have occurred since you accepted the offer. At the very minimum, you’ll want to walk away knowing what your 2-3 key priorities are for the first 30 days, your boss’ preferred way of communicating, how you should provide updates and how frequently.  

2. Hold a very brief “Get Acquainted” staff meeting. Here’s what you’ll want to cover in this extremely short group meeting:   

• Express your enthusiasm and optimism about joining the team.  
• Share a little background information about yourself.  
• Discuss your overall style of operating.  
• Share initial and broad expectations you have of your staff.  

• If appropriate, have your staff members to introduce themselves as well.  
• Indicate you’ll be setting up one-on-ones in the next few days.  
• If some of your direct reports are in remote locations, conference call them into the meeting.  
• Focus only on intros, icebreaking, and connecting.  

3. Don’t overreact to the staff’s initial responses to you.  

4. Get a baseline assessment of your new team. Talk to your boss or your predecessor (if available) about each of your direct report’s past performance. You want to determine:  

• Who is capable and who is not?  
• Who can be trusted and who can’t?  
• Who has influence and why?  

In the long run, understanding who your top performers are, those who you can go into battle with and those who may need to be cut from the team is crucial.  

5. Schedule One-on-Ones. Even if you know you will be reorganizing or potentially terminating some people go at a later date, make it a point to talk to each team member. Five questions set as an agenda:  

• What’s the story and history of this team? 

• What’s going well in your position and with our team?    

• What’s not working? What do we need to do more or less of that would make our team even stronger or your contributions to the department even more valuable?  

• What are your expectations of me as your manager?  

• What can I do to help you be successful?  

Listen and take good notes during these sessions.  Seize upon any easy issues to fix.  However, resist the temptation to make promises you can’t keep.  

6. Soothe ruffled feathers. Expect some early tests of your authority.   

7. Respect the Past.  

8. Never apologize for your selection as the leader. Make these eight items part of your game plan:      

• Meet your boss on day one to avoid surprises.  

• Hold a very brief “Get Acquainted” staff meeting.  Consider holding a New Manager Assimilation Meeting, if you already know the team.   

• Don’t overreact to your staff’s initial responses to you.  

• Get a baseline assessment of your new team.  

• Schedule one-on-ones.  

• Soothe ruffled feathers.  

• Respect the past.  

• Never apologize for your selection as the leader.  

Brady’s Notes: During my first week at Space Center Houston, I convened the HR team and shared information about me—my family, background, hobbies, & interests.  I also discussed my HR background and philosophy based on Dave Ulrich’s Human Resources Champions.  I believe we have 3 responsibilities in HR:  (1) Ensure workforce capabilities of the future, which involves strategic workforce planning, hiring, and training; (2) Steward the culture; and (3) Take care of the crew members. 

I also shared my leadership strengths & weaknesses and the importance of results & relationships to HR professionals.  I shared my approach to decision-making and how I like to discuss options and obtain input from the team.  I noted how I appreciate one-on-one communications and like e-mail communications.  I clarified that at times, I e-mail after hours—it’s part of my work-life fit—but only expect responses during working hours and that urgent communications—if ever needed—would be by phone or text.  I shared that I like executive summaries and to know what actions team members intend to take. 

I scheduled one-on-ones with each of them during my first two weeks and asked them to use the Performance & Development worksheet below.  That way, I understood their major accomplishments, strengths, and development plans.  I also scheduled one-on-ones with all Managers in my first 30 days to get an understanding of their views of HR and where we needed to focus our attentions as a team. 

Rule #5: Get on top of key projects & don’t let go  

Once you’ve broken the ice with your team, schedule an early meeting, certainly within your first ten days, with the entire team to get a full review of all open projects, initiatives and HR deliverables.  

Develop a spreadsheet listing the projects they’re working on.  

• Brief description of the project.  
• Client to whom the project relates.  
• Current status (% completed or target date for completion).  
• Obstacles (if any) to the successful completion.   
• Confidence that the deadline or deliverable will be met, using the stoplight method.  Green (highly confident), Yellow (cautiously optimistic, minor issues), or Red (major concerns, problems or obstacles).  

Utilize it as a powerful management tool by continuing to keep it current by having your team members update it monthly.  You can then meet with them individually or collectively for status updates.   

Rule #6: Successfully manage your single most important working relationship  

“You don’t have to like or admire your boss, nor do you have to have hate him.  However, you do have to manage him, so that he becomes your resource for personal achievement, accomplishment and success.” Who said this? Peter Drucker, the legendary guru of management, did in his book, The Practice of Management, way back in 1954 – when practically all bosses were “he’s” and “him’s.”      

There is no other one working relationship that is more important. 

You must… Go first.  Waiting for your boss to reach out to you—creates success in waiting, not in building the relationship. To make this happen you need to:  

1. Drive the critical conversations with your boss that will make you successful.  

2. Embrace the basics of effectively managing your boss – no matter who the boss is and what kind of operating style they have.  

The Six Critical Conversations You Must Drive With Your Boss 

Michael Watkins, in his fantastic book, The First 90 Days (which was a major inspiration for Collins’ book), first talked about the necessity of having separate, important conversations with your boss on specific issues important to your success in your first three months. 

1. Understand your boss’ goals. 

2. Determine the Boss’ initial expectations of you & your immediate performance priorities 

• What results will you need to deliver on right away?  

• How do these link to your boss’ objectives?    

• How will your overall performance be measured? When?  Formally? Informally? Annually? 

3. Learn the way your Boss prefers to communicate. 

4. Secure needed resources from your boss, such as:  

• financial resources  
• technology or technical support  
• talented people  
• political support 

5. Document your performance goals 

6. Get feedback on how you’re doing 

The Never-Fail Rules for Building A Successful Relationship with Your Boss 

1. Keep your boss up to speed on what you’re doing. Have a one pager ready at all times containing key talking points on your major projects. 

2. Flex your style. 

3. Bring solutions, not problems. 

4. When you screw up, fess up, fast! 

5. Don’t sweat the credit. 

6. Cover your Boss’ blind spots. This is at the top of any “make your boss look good” list.  Let’s face it: Sometimes, bosses hire you because you have strengths that compensate for their weak points.  

7. Never disrespect or contradict your boss publicly. This is the kiss of death. 

Brady’s Notes: I established weekly one-on-ones with the CEO my second week on the job.  I bring a one-pager agenda that starts by hearing his priorities & perspectives.  I discuss HR strategies and priorities, actions I’m taking, and what I’m observing of the leadership team and organization.  In my initial meeting, I shared my plan to conduct a Listening Tour with all managers and shared the Leadership Development Strategy from the Center for Creative Leadership – 

The framework was immediately adopted, and I’ve been able to generate some quick wins with the team, focusing on the 20%–bringing solutions we used at NASA for both coaching & mentoring. 

Rule #7: Turn your clients into raving fans 

Here are five strategies 

1. Do an early listening tour. To prepare your clients for these discussions, send out the following checklist in advance as your agenda:     

• What’s the history of your organization in working with our HR team? (Ask the client to highlight 2-3 accomplishments 2-3 shortfalls of your group?)   

• What’s has been the overall level of service and responsiveness of our team to your (client) needs? What needs are/aren’t getting met? Why?  

• What services/activities have you come to depend on from our team?  

• What are the unique contributions or things we do especially well?  

• What would you like to see changed regarding what you want/need from our team?  

• What services should our team provide to your organization in the future? What do you see as the future role of our team in maximizing your organization’s success?   

• What’s definitely not the role of our team as you see it?  

• What things should our team start doing? Stop doing? Continue to do? (i.e. Stop-start-continue)  

• If you could wish for anything from our team, what would you wish for? (e.g. No surprises? Helping you retain your top talent?)  

• If we could provide all the things you might wish for, what things would you value most? (Prioritize the wish list).  

• How can I ensure there’s good on-going communications between your organization and my team? (e.g., How will I find out if it’s not going well?  Or if everything is okay?) 

2. Identify the client priorities you will act on. From these early listening sessions, let your clients know that you’ve heard them and share what specific actions you’ll be taking based on their comments. Having said all this, prepare to disappoint some people.  Develop a reputation (and respect) for being candid and upfront. 

3. Look for opportunities to over-deliver. Become their trusted advisor. This involves becoming the person that your client can confide in, say anything to and let their hair down with – anytime. Sometimes trust can be gained quickly if you can spot a vexing pain point…and help your client address it. 

4. Spend time on their turf regularly. No matter where they reside, book time on your calendar to visit folks on their turf regularly — whether they’re in the next office or in the next time zone. Set up even routine meetings, where possible, with your clients in their office, not yours. Take time to touch base regularly when things are going well, that way when things blow up, your presence doesn’t raise suspicions. Finally, even if you don’t have a specific reason to see your clients, create one. 

5. Deepen your knowledge of the business. 

Brady’s Note:  To deepen my knowledge of the business, I met with managers in their offices—learning a variety of office spaces and places at Space Center Houston.  I also shadowed a Guest Operations Duty Manager on Good Friday—one of our busier days—to understand the perspectives on the floor.  I’ve also met with our Facilities, Security, and Custodial Services staff to understand their perspectives and pain points. 

Rule #8: Clarify expectations up, down & all around 

Agree on a set of written performance goals to: 

• Minimize surprises at performance review time 
• Deal with complexity 
• Gain clarity from other key stakeholders, besides your boss 
• Adapt to rapid changes 
• Clarify expectations for your team 

If your boss doesn’t take the initiative on this, then you should step up, take charge and craft some performance objectives yourself 

Re-set performance expectations for your direct report team. Sequentially, you should set yours first, distribute a copy of yours to them and then make sure that each team members’ objectives support and align with yours.  Then, start holding your team accountable.   

Commit to consistent one-on-one meetings. Meet weekly or bi-weekly with your direct reports. Hold regular meetings for the entire team. Step in and begin correcting performance issues. Build on what is going well. Address team conflicts swiftly. Finally, plan any major team building carefully. 

Rule #9: Cut your HR learning curve in half 

Collins provides a powerful tool that can help you close your HR knowledge gaps quickly!  Check out his book for The HR Onboarding Accelerator Checklist Tool.  

Basic Key HR Metrics 

You only need to track and improve 3 or 4 key metrics to make a difference.  Here are few examples to consider:  

Recruitment / Talent Attraction 

1. What percent of hires remain after two years of being hired?  

2. Which selection criteria are the best predictors of high performance in the first year and beyond?  

3. Which selection criteria are the best predictors of retaining top performing talent?  

4. What is the percent of offers are accepted by the top talent?  

Retention  

1. What percent of the total employees are retained each year? (overall retention %).  

2. What percent of the high performers/high potentials are retained each year? (top talent retention %).  

3. What percent of exits are voluntary versus involuntary?  

4. What are the reasons that people voluntarily leave?  

5. From what jobs and leaders do the voluntary leavers tend to depart?  

Development  

1. What percent of promotions come from inside versus outside the firm?  

2. How does the individual performance after training compare with performance before training?  

3. Which employee groups benefit most from training (e.g., level, age, experience, nationality)?  

Succession  

1. What percent of critical (or key at-risk) positions have ready-now back up candidates?  

2. What percent of the ready-now back up candidates are actually moved into positions?  

Total Rewards  

1. What is the correlation of pay increases with improvements in performance? Retention?  

2. Which form of compensation (base pay, bonus, stock, incentive pay) results in the greatest short-term and long-term performance?  

Employee Engagement  

1. What percent of employees know and can describe the company’s mission, long-term objectives, and business strategy?  

2. What percent of employees know and can describe the company’s external brand identity and what differentiates it in the marketplace?  

3. What percent of employees perform above and beyond the scope of their job description and deliver added value?  

Rule #10: Decipher the real culture of the organization 

Said differently, knowing “what” to do is not enough.  You must also know “how” to get things done within the personality and fabric of your organization.    

Pull together an informal advisory network of 3-5 colleagues who can guide and advise you.  There are three essential roles you need for these individuals to play: (1) Seasoned Peer Advisor; (2) Capability Leaders; and (3) Connectors 

The Seasoned Peer Advisor is a colleague that can show you the ropes and to provide insights on how the formal and informal systems in the organization work. The best candidates are folks already on your peer team or other HR leaders at your same level. The kinds of cultural issues you face in your new organization can be subtle and nuanced.  

Keep in mind that as you move into to more senior HR roles, the need for good cultural and political counsel increases dramatically.   

More Ideas to Help You Figure Out the Organization.  

1. Tap into internal diversity and inclusion networks, affinity and employee resource groups. So, pick out a few groups, attend some meetings and keep your antennae out for members with leadership smarts, integrity, who enjoy talking with you and who you feel would delight in your success. 

2. Augment your internal network with your own confidants. 

3. Never eat alone. This is the title of a great book by Keith Ferrazzi.  It’s also a great strategy for your first 100 days. Consider lunch an informal, precious block of time that you can use to help you decipher the culture.  

Brady’s Notes:  At Space Center Houston, I was fortunate to follow in the footsteps of the original HR Director, who spent the last 31 years with the organization. She stayed with us for my first 90 days, helping me navigate the organization.  She told me all about the players, the culture, and helped me launch my own leadership.  I’m very grateful for that unique support and long transition time.   

Rule #11: Cut the fat & muscle up your team 

Expect to inherit some strong performers, some average ones, and some simply not up to the job.  Dave Ulrich, is even more specific about this in his book, Victory Through Organization.  He calls it the 20-60-20 normal distribution of HR professionals. 

• 20% are exceptional and deliver real value. You need to stay out of their way and learn from them.  
• 60% are open to learning and making progress towards making to even bigger impacts. These are folks you want to invest in because they want to and are eager to make a difference. 
• 20% are laggards, not able or willing to use HR to drive business results.  You need to not let them deter you.  

When in doubt, have a bias to move quicker on your team than you think you should.  The risks of moving a tad too soon are nothing compared to hit to your reputation of leaving ineffective people in place too long. 

Consider these 3 key decisions: 

1. When to make changes in your team. Around 30 days but certainly no longer than 60 days, pull the trigger and start making your changes. 

2. How To Make Changes in Your Team. Establish your criteria. Then, evaluate your people. Discuss performance in-depth with each team member. During these discussions you’ll want to explore:  

• What they are doing well and what could be improved.  

• What they do and do not like about their work. 

• What they think of your existing strategy and what they could be doing more for the business, if given the opportunity.  

3. Make the tough calls – Keep. Replace. Defer decision for now. Fill positions wisely. Treat people respectfully. 

Avoiding these common traps when making changes in your team: 

• Blaming your predecessor for the team you inherited.  
• Moving too fast. 
• Moving too slow. 
• Losing your top performers. 
• Don’t underestimate the time needed to get everything done. 
• Trying to do it all by yourself. 
• At the 30-day point, but certainly no longer than 60 days, you should begin executing your changes. 

Rule #12: Leverage the “F” word frequently 

“Getting Feedback” is critical—first referenced back in Rule #6 with your boss. If you have concerns at all about seeking it out, go about feedback this way:  

• It’s a Gift — of time, honesty and thoughtful insight from people with opinions you value.   
• It’s a Gift that will help you make needed adjustments in in your leadership style and elevate your performance.  
• And, as with any Gift, the best response to any feedback – good or bad, whether you agree with it or not – is “thank you!” 

Type #1: Feedback on Your Style and “Fit.” 

If you’re having trouble decoding what you’re hearing, follow up and probe deeper.  Ask: “What one or two things – beyond anything else – would you recommend that I do that would help me address this and be more effective?”   

Don’t argue or debate the feedback you’re getting. Stay in active listening mode and recognize that you don’t have to agree with everything. Finally, thank your feedback providers and let them know what actions you plan to take based on their feedback.  

Type #2: Feedback on Your Pace. 

How much time are you devoting to learning activities like meetings, connecting with key people and deepening your understanding of your new organization?  

How much time are you spending on results-producing activities such as making key decisions, driving change, recruiting new people, solving client problems, getting alignment to important initiatives and so on?  In other words, are you striking the right balance between these two activities?  

If you’re joining a well-functioning HR team that is already delivering strong results, you may have the luxury of doing more learning early on.  

Obviously, this balance between learning and action isn’t an exact science. 

Brady’s Note: I did have the luxury, as Collins put it, of joining a high-functioning HR team.  So, I spent time learning new things—about sourcing talent, compensation strategy & execution, and benefits.  The team’s performance also enabled me to focus on HR Strategy, Leadership Development strategies, and some quick win opportunities. 

Rule #13: Ignite the fire within your team 

As the new HR leader, it’s up to you to create that positive “buzz” that radiates energy and provides a source of motivation for your team. Igniting your team is especially crucial if you’ve cut staff, added new people or dramatically reorganized your team. 

Here are four essential strategies for igniting your team:  

1. Step up your own level of passion. 

2. Meet individually to stabilize and re-recruit your people. Let them know they’re valued. Re-prioritize the goals and workload. Have career talks. 

3. Define a new uplifting vision, taking your team offsite. Revisit the team’s direction and game plan the work that needs to be accomplished. Create a strategic plan for the future. Incorporate fun activities that build the team. 

4. Create defining moments. One of the best strategies for re-energizing your team is to look for or create moments to acknowledge your team’s efforts and results.  Here are few suggestions:   

• Recognize victories. 
• Champion your people to your boss. 
• Provide opportunities to develop and stretch.  
• Simply show you care. 
• Remember birthdays and anniversaries.  
• Buy breakfast for absolutely no reason.  
• Have team lunches. 
• Connect the dots for your team. 

People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. 

Building a passionate, productive and committed team requires paying attention to the little things that will keep your team inspired and show you care.  

Brady’s Note: I completed my first 100 days with the plan to craft a vision for HR 2030 with the team.  We’re set to meet next week for some further team-building and determining a vision for the future. Ultimately, I’d like to craft a HR Strategy on a Page—as encouraged by Gartner consultants when I worked with NASA. 

Rule #14: Score smart early wins to make your mark  

Before your 100 days end, if you haven’t already, you need to score some wins. 

Here are ten guidelines for selecting and posting smart early wins:  

1. Know what a “Win” really is. 

2. Identify a short list of 3-5 potential smart win candidates then select two from your list.  You want to find problems that are plaguing the business that you can fix with HR solutions. Then fix them. It doesn’t matter how big or small they are because your short-term goal is to build a reputation as someone who gets things done in areas that the business values. 

3. Make sure the wins you choose matter to your boss. 

4. Ensure the result is clearly measurable. Here’s how to approach measuring your results: (1) Pick an issue or project you’re trying to address (ex: retaining high-producing sales people), (2) Put a metric to it, and (3) When you’ve improved that metric, you’ve added value and that becomes the measure of your success. Don’t over-complicate this.     

5. Pick wins as early as you can. Focus on those achievable within your first 3-6 months. 

6. A Win should be “Owned” by you. 

7. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. 

8. Pre-wire wins if you anticipate huge resistance. 

9. “How” you get the win matters. If you deliver great results in a manner that is seen as manipulative, underhanded, or inconsistent with the culture, that’s not a win—it’s a loss—and can be tough to recover from. 

10. Finally, do publicize your wins. With a win under your belt, you can offer to share your results and experiences in HR-related lunch and learn sessions, training programs, at quarterly meetings…or better yet, farm yourself out to other divisions/groups within your organization as a resource in solving similar kinds of problems. 

Brady’s Notes: I was pleased to be able to offer our managers each a Coach through BetterUp within my first 60 days.  Then, within 90 days, we initiated a Cross-Department mentoring program.  In mid-May, I proposed a significant compensation change strategy.  Now, our CEO wants to develop an aggressive compensation strategy for our Executive and Director-level talent.  It’s been a fun start, for sure! 

Rule #15: Track your accomplishments  

This is the final rule and it may well be the most important… Whether your review is done formally or informally—quarterly, at midyear, annually…or not at all—tracking your own accomplishments is an absolute must do! 

Here are four steps to follow:  

1. Create a capturing mechanism. 

2. Start capturing your accomplishments. 

3. Do your own “Self-Appraisals” each month. 

4. Focus on quantifying your contributions. Optically, the human eye is pulled towards quantifiable symbols (e.g., $, # or %) and you should leverage this fact when the time comes for capturing your accomplishments and giving input on your final review.  

Bonus Rule #16: Act quickly on warning signs that your new job may be in jeopardy 

Warning Sign – You’re not getting buy-in.  

Not being able to get approval for your HR strategy, key talent initiatives or budget may indicate that the leadership team doesn’t support you.  It may also indicate that your proposals are not aligned with the business. Either way, it shows you’re not in tune with your colleagues or your organization’s needs.  And you can’t be effective or successful without buy-in. 

Bonus Rule #17: Stay current, capable, and charged up 

Here are three final words of wisdom as part of this bonus rule. 

1. Start with taking care of your health. Physical exercise, of any kind whatsoever, followed by relaxation, will clear your mind and dramatically improve your personal energy and productivity. Even though they too know better, many HR leaders treat exercise like it’s a choice.  It’s not. It’s now an essential part of performing well and building a successful career in HR. 

2. Invest time in your family and “Leave Your Crown in the Garage.” No matter who we are, or what we do, nobody can take our place in our families. 

3. Stay motivated and inspired. 

As an HR leader, you have tremendous power. You help organizations get better results through people. You help people get better results from their careers. That’s why you get paid. It’s a noble calling. The thrill of helping others succeed can keep your spirits up and keep you inspired. 

Final Thoughts  

If you follow just half of these suggestions, you will have launched yourself well and established a strong foundation for your first 100 days. 

Brady’s Note: I’m extremely grateful for these practical, easy-to-implement strategies.  Following Alan Collins’ script helped me get started the right way at Space Center Houston, and I’m excited about what the future holds. 

May these tips help you, too—whether you’re a new HR Director, Manager, or Vice President—as you shoot for the stars in your new role!