What the First 90 Days Reveal About Your Leadership
by Mentoring Matters
4 minutes read
In the words of The Bear’s Carmy Berzatto,
"Every second counts." In the corporate kitchen of 2026,
those seconds are ticking faster than ever. As we exit the
‘planning phase’ of January and move into the execution phase
of Q1, the momentum you build now isn't just about hitting
targets; it’s about establishing the psychological safety and
strategic clarity that will sustain your team through the
volatility of the year.
Those first 90 days matter far more than leaders tend to admit.
Not because they are dramatic, but because they are formative.
Leadership coaching often enters the picture here for a simple
reason. Early in the year, leaders are still open to reflection.
They are not yet trapped by momentum, firefighting, or sunk-cost
thinking. Coaching creates the pause that allows leaders to notice
what they are unconsciously repeating from last year and what needs
to change if 2026 is to feel different.
From a practical standpoint, the first quarter offers leaders a
rare advantage: the chance to decide, consciously, what they will
stop, start, and sustain before the year decides for them.
1. STOP: Retaining the 2025 ‘Cognitive Clutter’
Before you can accelerate, you have to drop the emergency brake.
Leadership in 2026 requires a lean mental model.
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Stop Command-and-Control Directives:
The 2026 workforce is younger, more ambitious, and has zero
tolerance for "because I said so”. If you’re still leading
like a 1950s shop foreman, you’re essentially using a
BlackBerry in a Neuralink world.
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Stop the "Fixing" Mentality:
Transition from fixing what’s wrong to building what is.
Stop micromanaging tasks and start managing outcomes.
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Stop One-Way Communication:
In a world of distributed ownership, a ‘top-down’
announcement is just noise. If your communication doesn't
invite a dialogue, it’s not leading, it’s broadcasting.
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Stop Carrying Undecided Decisions Forward:
Half-made calls from 2025 quietly tax leadership bandwidth
in 2026. Every unresolved priority forces teams to keep
context-switching. If something mattered enough to debate
last year, it matters enough to resolve now. Clarity is not
a communication problem; it’s a decision-making one.
2. START: New Practices for a New Reality
Q1 is the time to install new "operating systems" in your
team dynamics.
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Start ‘Micro-Coaching’ Moments:
Forget the heavy, hour-long annual reviews. In 2026,
leadership happens in 30-second interactions. Start using
coaching prompts in your daily Slack or Teams check-ins
to build capability on the fly.
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Start Radical Transparency regarding AI:
AI is your new teammate, not a ghost in the machine.
Start narrating how you use AI for decision support vs.
where you rely on human judgment. This ‘AI Stewardship’
builds trust in an era of automation anxiety.
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Start "Sensemaking" Sessions:
When the market changes weekly, your team doesn't need
more facts; they need to know what those facts mean.
Start disciplined practices of co-constructing meaning
with your team to create ‘cognitive glue’.
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Start Managing Your State, Not Just the Room:
In volatile environments, teams take their emotional cues
from leaders. Start noticing your default reactions under
pressure, urgency, impatience, withdrawal. Coaching helps
leaders slow their own nervous systems so clarity, not
anxiety, sets the tone.
3. SUSTAIN: Doubling Down on What Works
Success in the first 90 days is about finding your ‘Greatest
Hits’ and putting them on a loop.
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Sustain Psychological Safety:
This isn't a ‘soft extra’, it’s a performance requirement.
Sustain environments where people can challenge assumptions
without fear of punishment.
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Sustain Continuous Performance Conversations:
Keep the rhythm of quick, real-time feedback loops. Like a
high-performing sports team, the ‘halftime adjustment’
should happen daily, not annually.
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Sustain Human Presence:
In an AI-heavy world, your humanity is your differentiator.
Sustain ‘slow listening’ and visible vulnerability to remain
an anchor for your team.
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Sustain Focus Protection:
As the year accelerates, distractions will multiply.
Sustain clarity by actively shielding teams from unnecessary
urgency, last-minute pivots, and competing priorities.
Focus is not something teams ‘find’; it’s something leaders
defend.
Your 90-Day Catalyst
At its best, coaching sharpens decision quality in real time.
It helps leaders separate signal from noise, challenge their own
narratives, and avoid repeating familiar patterns simply because
they feel efficient.
The first quarter does not define the year because it is busy or
visible. It defines the year because it sets habits, expectations,
and emotional tone.
Why is coaching the ‘secret sauce’ for this 90-day reset?
Because 2026 leadership is no longer a solo sport. Coaching is
moving from a "nice-to-have" to a baseline expectation.
A dedicated coaching program provides the external perspective
needed to identify which 2025 habits are actually anchors.
Whether it's through peer coaching circles or AI-enhanced
personalized insights, coaching ensures that your ‘Start, Stop,
Sustain’ goals aren't just Post-it notes, they are measurable
behavioural shifts.
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