Build influence with your new boss fast

C-suite turnover is now the norm

A two thousand twenty-four Gartner survey found fifty-six percent of C-suite leaders said they were likely to leave their role within two years, and more than one in four said they could leave within six…

“56% of C-suite leaders said they were likely to leave their role within two years”

Don't wait for them to call you

Reach out to new executives within their first week. While you wait, they form opinions about who to trust and who brings useful perspectives. Your historical context and ground-level insight are most valuable now.

Show how you shorten their learning curve

Introduce yourself with a note highlighting your tenure and scope. Offer to meet one-on-one and explain how you can help them understand the function, its challenges, and what needs fixing.

“I can give you an overview on how the function operates today, where some of the challenges are, and anything I can do to get you up to speed faster.”

Connect your work to their mandate

Identify what the new executive was hired to accomplish: accelerate growth, cut costs, or transform operations. Show how your efforts inform the problem they were brought in to solve.

Help them navigate the people side

Offer to introduce them to key contacts and non-obvious stakeholders. When briefing them on projects, provide context around political dynamics so they avoid surprises and understand past disagreements.

Support their changes tactfully

When new executives restructure teams or shift resources, raise concerns only when you see real risks. Then volunteer to pilot new approaches, develop talking points, or gather data to show you're invested in their success.

Showcase your talent pipeline

Brief your C-suite stakeholders on your top performers and how you're developing them. Share your thinking on succession planning and stretch assignments to show you manage for scale and reduce key-person risk.

Build relationships with their inner circle

Get to know the chief of staff or former colleagues the executive brought in. They help you understand priorities and communication style, and a halo effect takes hold when they speak highly of you.