Everything communicates. Everything you say and don’t say, do and don’t do, and the order in which you say and do it sends a message. The same is true for everyone around you. As an executive onboarding into a new role, be intentional about the message you’re sending to others, and curious and disciplined about reading the messages others are sending to you so you can benefit from the rich stream of data about priorities, values, fears, and agendas coming your way – whether or not people know they’re sending it.
What you are communicating, whether you mean to or not
As a new leader, you’re going to get positioned in people’s minds one way or another. Own it. Decide how you want to position yourself and drive that positioning in your words and actions.
People will pay attention to what you say and the stories you tell about what matters and why. Then they will then test them against what you actually do. If you say you care about collaboration and then unilaterally make your first three big decisions, that inconsistency communicates more loudly than your stated intention.
Your actions communicate what you really value. Where, when, and how you show up sends a clearer message than any slide or email. Whom you meet first, whose calls you return fastest, what you prepare for, what you cancel, what you follow up on, and what you let slide all tell people what – and who – matters most to you. If you say customers come first and then repeatedly skip customer visits to stay in internal meetings, people will believe what you do, not what you say.
What others are communicating, whether they mean to or not
The flip side is just as powerful. They are sending you a message – whether they intend to or not. Pay attention. Connect the dots. And find the patterns.
Silence communicates. No response is a response. When people go quiet on certain topics, delay answering specific questions, or never quite get around to sending you the data you asked for, they are telling you something about what makes them uncomfortable, what they are protecting, or what they don’t consider worth the effort.
Actions communicate. Who shows up and who does not, whether people are on time or chronically late, whether they prepare in advance or wing it, whether they ask questions or just defend their position – all those details reveal what’s really valued in that system. Watch what gets celebrated and what passes without comment. Watch whose careers advance and for what reasons. Those are the real “values statements.”
Sequence communicates. What they do first when something changes, whom they consult before making decisions, what gets fast‑tracked versus left in backlog – these patterns tell you who has influence and what are the real priorities. You won’t need an organization chart to understand who has the real power and influence if you pay attention to who is consulted and when.
Using tell‑tale signs as early warning systems
One early tell-tale sign is your new boss’s reaction to your sharing your 100-Day Action Plan with them before you start.
- If they tell you not to worry about it, and that they’ll manage your onboarding, expect them to be more controlling.
- If they sign off on your plan with no comments, expect them to be more hands-off and leave you on your own – which has some obvious advantages and risks.
- If they are supportive and give you suggestions on how to improve the plan, expect them to partner with you on this and other things.
Other tell-tale signs might be:
- Your team’s responsiveness to you as a new leader, communicating whether they value your success or just view you as another incoming leader to “wait out.”
- The way people talk about customers, communicating whether they truly care about long‑term relationships or just short‑term transactions.
- The issues on which leadership spends its time, communicating whether the real mandate is survival, optimization, or reinvention.
Implications for you
You cannot not communicate. Others cannot not communicate. Make both sides of that coin work – especially as an executive onboarding into a new role.
- Be intentional and deliberate about the message you send.
- Be on the lookout for when your intent and impact diverge.
- Read others’ behavior as data about what really matters to them.
- Spot early warning signs before they become full‑blown crises.
