Use this as a working checklist

□ Day 1: Do not perform authority.

Keep the opening calm. Do not overtalk, overpromise, or make a speech before you understand the work.

□ Meet each direct report.

Ask what is working, what is stuck, and what they would change if they were in your role.

□ Map repeated problems.

Do not react to the loudest issue. Look for patterns that repeat across conversations.

□ Pick one early improvement.

Choose one small change that creates relief without disrupting the whole system.

□ Define your meeting rules.

Start on time, end on time, capture blockers, and send short recaps.

□ Use clean decision sentences.

Lead with the decision, not the backstory. Add context only when needed.

□ Delegate one low-risk task.

Define the outcome, constraints, checkpoint, and then do not hover.

□ Give one narrow piece of feedback.

Use observation, impact, and next step. Keep it factual and private.

□ Protect capacity.

Pause before saying yes. Name trade-offs instead of absorbing everything.

□ Set boundaries with former peers.

Stay warm, but separate friend lane from manager lane.

□ Send a weekly update upward.

Progress, risk, ask, next. Short and steady beats impressive.

□ Review the first 30 days.

What became clearer? What is still unstable? What needs a standard, not a speech?