New Leaders Risk Collapse by Building the Roof First, Warns Florence Divet ☀️

In a recent LinkedIn post, Florence Divet ☀️ discusses a common pitfall for new leaders: prioritizing visible action over foundational trust-building. Florence Divet ☀️ argues that many leaders, eager to prove their worth, rush into decisions and organizational changes, only to find their teams disengage within months. This approach, she contends, is akin to building the roof of a house before the foundation is secure.

Florence Divet ☀️ shares an anecdote about a director she coached who announced a reorg on day three of their new role. While perceived as decisive, this move backfired. “By week six his team had gone quiet on him. He had answered questions nobody had asked yet,” Florence Divet ☀️ recounts. This experience led Florence Divet ☀️ to conclude that the initial weeks in a leadership role are critical for building, not for immediate, visible change.

“Twenty-five years of watching new leaders taught me one thing. The first ten weeks are a build. The layers only hold in order.”

The Ten-Week Foundation Framework

Florence Divet ☀️ outlines a ten-week framework for new leaders, emphasizing a sequential approach to building credibility and effectiveness. This structured approach prioritizes understanding and trust before introducing new ideas or making significant changes. Each week has a specific focus:

1. Week 1: Understand before you are understood. Florence Divet ☀️ cautions against the urge to prove oneself too quickly, identifying it as a significant risk.
2. Week 2: Earn trust. The team must first feel safe and trust the leader before they will engage with new ideas.
3. Week 3: Read the system under the org chart. Influence often resides with individuals, not just titles.
4. Week 4: Write the diagnosis with the team, in their words. Collaborative problem definition is key.
5. Week 5: Finish one small thing. Delivering tangible results builds momentum. Florence Divet ☀️ states, “A win delivered beats a plan promised.”
6. Week 6: Say out loud what good looks like. Setting clear expectations is crucial.
7. Week 7: Make the first hard call. Establishing standards early on is vital, as Florence Divet ☀️ notes, “The standard you walk past is the standard you set.”
8. Week 8: Align with your boss before you lead your team. Ensuring alignment with superiors is a prerequisite for effective team leadership.
9. Week 9: Build a rhythm that runs when you leave the room. Creating sustainable processes is essential for long-term success.
10. Week 10: Set the direction. Only after completing these foundational steps has the leader earned the right to be believed.

The Science of Safety and Trust

Florence Divet ☀️ grounds her advice in established psychological principles. She references the work of David Rock, who suggests that the brain perceives new authority figures as a potential threat until a sense of safety is established. Additionally, Florence Divet ☀️ points to Amy Edmondson’s research, which found that psychological safety within teams encourages speaking up, a critical factor for high performance.

“Trust carries the load. Everything above it rests on that wall.”

Florence Divet ☀️ concludes by urging leaders to reflect on their priorities. Before announcing any significant initiatives, she prompts them to consider the fundamental question: “What are you building? The foundation, or the roof?” This underscores her central message that a strong, trusted foundation is paramount for any leader’s long-term success and stability.