When stepping into a new leadership role—whether as a CEO, Executive Director, division head, or Board President—one of the most impactful actions you can take is initiating a strategic planning process.
For the first-year CEO, strategic planning presents a unique window of opportunity to assess the organization's direction and chart a course for future success.
New leaders bring an invaluable "fresh eyes" perspective to an organization. You're able to see patterns, challenges, and opportunities that may have become invisible to those who have been with the organization longer. This perspective is most powerful during your executive onboarding strategy phase, before you become acclimated to "how things are done here."
A comprehensive leadership change management approach that includes strategic planning harnesses this fresh perspective, allowing you to translate your observations into a structured vision for change while building buy-in from your team.
A well-executed new leader vision-setting process demonstrates several key leadership qualities: thoughtfulness, inclusivity, vision, and an execution-oriented approach. By leading a strategic planning process, you communicate that you're both forward-thinking and methodical in your approach.
As Indra Nooyi demonstrated when she became CEO of PepsiCo in 2006, strategic planning in the first 100 days can establish leadership credibility during critical transitions. Facing intense competition and shifting consumer preferences, Nooyi immediately launched "Performance with Purpose," a comprehensive strategic planning initiative that redefined PepsiCo's approach to growth. Despite facing skepticism about her bold vision to transform the company's portfolio toward healthier options, Nooyi used this structured strategic process to align her leadership team. "The strategic plan wasn't just about what we would do," she later explained, "but about creating a framework for how we would make decisions. It showed everyone that we were balancing short-term delivery with preparing for a fundamentally different future."
For many leaders, particularly those brought in to drive change, strategic planning creates critical alignment with the board and other key stakeholders. The process provides structured opportunities for discovering areas of consensus and addressing points of disagreement before they become roadblocks to progress.
When Reshma Saujani founded Girls Who Code in 2012, she brought political campaign experience but not educational or nonprofit leadership expertise. Recognizing this gap, she prioritized strategic planning in her first year.
The planning process resulted in a focused goal: close the gender gap in technology by building the largest pipeline of future female engineers. More importantly, it established a clear operational model of after-school clubs and summer immersion programs.
This strategic clarity enabled Girls Who Code to:
Saujani's first-year strategic planning created a sustainable model that continued even after she stepped down as CEO in 2021.
When Doug McMillon became CEO of Walmart in 2014, the retail landscape was being transformed by e-commerce. Despite Walmart's massive size, it was falling behind Amazon and struggling with its digital transformation.
McMillon's leadership transition strategic framework included a comprehensive planning process in his first year that resulted in a dramatic shift: a $5 billion investment in e-commerce capabilities, higher wages for store employees, and a renewed focus on omnichannel retail.
The strategic realignment new management plan delivered:
By 2025, Walmart had transformed into a true omnichannel retailer, with digital sales growing by more than 70% in 2020 alone. McMillon's executive leadership strategic priorities laid the groundwork for this successful pivot.
If you're implementing a CEO's first 100 days plan, here are key approaches to make your strategic planning process successful:
Begin with a strategic assessment, listening deeply to staff, board members, clients, and other stakeholders. This demonstrates respect for the organization's history and the expertise of its existing staff. However, don't mistake endless listening for leadership. After conducting thorough discovery, confidently guide the stakeholder alignment process toward informed decision-making.
Ensure your leadership vision strategic execution plan includes specific implementation mechanisms. As McKinsey research has shown, 70% of strategic plans fail due to poor execution. Create clear accountability systems, resource allocations, and progress metrics from the start.
Strategic planning for new executives should incorporate diverse perspectives without becoming overly complex. Consider a core planning team with structured input opportunities for broader stakeholder groups. This approach strikes a balance between inclusion and the need to maintain momentum.
The organizational direction the new CEO sets through strategic planning offers an excellent opportunity to observe how your leadership team thinks, collaborates, and handles ambiguity. Use this process to assess team strengths and development needs while building cohesion around your strategic direction.
While a strategic plan typically covers 3-5 years, the process you lead in your executive onboarding strategy phase often has much longer-lasting impacts. It establishes your leadership approach, builds critical relationships, and sets cultural expectations about how decisions will be made during your tenure.
As former Medtronic CEO Bill George noted, "The strategic planning process may be more important than the plan itself." This is particularly true for those implementing a leadership transition plan, who use the process to gain a deep understanding of their organization while simultaneously shaping its future.
By prioritizing strategic planning in your new leadership role, you leverage your unique "new eyes" advantage while building the alignment necessary for long-term organizational success. Like Indra Nooyi, Reshma Saujani, and Doug McMillon, you can use this powerful leadership change management process to translate your vision into lasting organizational transformation.
Ultimately, the best new leadership strategic planning initiatives aren't just about producing documents—they're about creating clarity, confidence, and momentum that propel organizations toward a more successful future.
Are you new to your leadership role? Is your organization in the midst of a leadership transition?
Contact us for expert guidance on how to ensure your first year starts with a brilliant new strategic direction.