Upward Onboarding: Guiding an Executive New to the Organisation

Dan Hadley shares 6 strategic actions you can take to build your reputation with a new executive and demonstrate your ability as an indispensable strategic asset to your organisation

The Assistant as Cultural Translator

When a new executive joins an organisation, they often arrive with a surplus of ideas for change, but a deficit in local organisational context. While Human Resources oversees the mechanical functions of payroll and legal onboarding, the Assistant manages the intangible assets of the transition – specifically the institutional culture and social capital required for the executive to succeed. They are often the holder of an organisation’s history and its primary cultural translator.

Moving from administrator to strategic partner requires the diplomacy to speak truth to power, especially if the executive’s previous background clashes with the current environment. By positioning yourself as the guide to the unwritten rules, you ensure the executive’s transition is defined by integration rather than friction.

The First 90 Days Roadmap

The most common mistake for a new executive is a frantic ‘sprint to nowhere’. As their partner, your role is to impose a structure of integration over the chaos of activity. In the first 30 days, prioritise ‘listening tours’ rather than decision-making forums; in the second 30, focus on identifying ‘low-hanging fruit’ where the executive can achieve a quick, morale-boosting win without deep structural changes. By day 90, the roadmap can pivot towards long-term strategy. Controlling the calendar in this period isn’t just about time management; it’s about ensuring the executive spends their limited ‘newcomer capital’ on building relationships that will sustain them for years whilst adding real value to the organisation.

Decoding Stakeholder Temperaments

An organisation chart tells an executive who people are, but it tells them nothing about how to work with them. Your value lies in the ‘shadow org chart’ – identifying the quiet influencers, the historical gatekeepers, and the temperaments of key players.

Before a major meeting, brief your executive on more than just the agenda; brief them on the audience.

Does the CFO prefer data-heavy appendices or high-level narratives? Is there a department head who is historically resistant to the executive’s new mandate? Knowing these nuances allows the executive to tailor their communication style to the person, rather than the title, drastically increasing their early influence.

Navigating Political Landmines

Every organisation has its ‘untouchable’ projects and historical grievances that can derail a new executive who steps into them unknowingly. Your role is to identify these landmines before they are triggered. This requires a delicate balance of transparency and discretion.

For example, if the executive proposes a restructure of a specific unit, you might provide the context of a previous failed attempt that still lingers in the staff’s memory. By providing this historical intelligence, you save the executive from the reputational damage of appearing tone-deaf to the organisation’s past.

Reading the Organisational Morale

Executives often suffer from the echo chamber effect, where they only hear what their direct reports think they want to hear. As the Assistant, you have a unique vantage point to read the true morale of the ‘floor’. You are the early-warning system for cultural friction. Whether the organisation is a consensus-driven government body or a results-oriented corporate firm, you must interpret how the executive’s early communications are being received. Reporting this morale back to the executive with candour is one of the highest-value services you can provide, ensuring they can pivot their approach before small misunderstandings become systemic issues.

Protecting Professional Boundaries

In the rush of onboarding, the boundaries of the EA–executive partnership can become blurred or, conversely, too rigid. Establishing the ‘terms of engagement’ early is vital. You must be the ‘human firewall’ who protects the executive’s time for deep work, but you must do so without becoming a barrier to the rest of the organisation. This is particularly important when navigating the transition of administrative styles from the executive’s previous role. Defining exactly when and how you should step in to represent the executive’s interests builds the trust necessary for a high-functioning, long-term strategic partnership.

The Strategic ROI

‘Upward onboarding’ is far more than a professional courtesy; it is a vital risk-mitigation strategy for the entire organisation. When an executive fails to integrate, the cost to the company – in lost momentum, cultural friction, and recruitment capital – is astronomical. By stepping into the role of cultural translator and strategic guide, you directly protect the organisation’s leadership investment, fast-tracking the executive’s transition from uncertain newcomer to effective leader.

For the Assistant, this proactive approach changes the internal narrative of your profession. It moves the role of the EA or PA from the periphery of management to the very centre of the organisation’s leadership strategy. You are no longer just supporting the person in the office; you are safeguarding the strategic continuity of the business itself. When the executive succeeds because of the context you provided, you solidify your position not just as an employee, but as an indispensable strategic asset.