How to Create a 30-60-90 Day Plan for Managers

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Starting a new management position can be both exciting and challenging. Whether you’re stepping into leadership for the first time or already have a run as a team leader, having a clear roadmap is essential to hit the ground running. A 30-60-90 day plan can help you navigate your first three months in the manager role by outlining actionable goals that build momentum, foster relationships, and align your efforts with organizational objectives.

This article dives into the fundamentals of a 30-60-90 day plan, providing actionable tips, templates, and strategies for managers to succeed in leadership transitions.

Critical tips for managers starting a new role

Transitioning into a leadership role brings both excitement and responsibility, so before getting into the basics of a 30-60-90 day plan, it’s essential to understand some foundational strategies that can enhance your effectiveness as a manager. These tips will help you establish credibility, foster collaboration, and lay a strong foundation for success.

Build strong relationships early

Relationships are the cornerstone of effective leadership. Meet with your team members, peers, and key stakeholders to establish rapport and understand their expectations. Here are some ways to achieve it:

• One-on-one meetings: Schedule introductory meetings with each team member to learn about their roles, strengths, and challenges.
• Peer collaboration: Connect with colleagues in similar roles to understand how they approach challenges.
• Personal touch: Find common ground to create rapport. For instance, you can share your own learning curve, which can make you relatable.

Building trust early fosters open communication and motivates your team to align with your vision. It also creates a foundation for addressing challenges collaboratively.

Set SMART goals

Effective leadership requires actionable objectives. By setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-bound) goals, you can create a roadmap for success. For example, instead of just saying, “Improve team productivity,” aim for more detailed goals like, “Implement a new project management tool within 60 days to reduce task completion times by 20%.”

Clear goals help you stay focused, measure progress, and demonstrate accountability to both your team and supervisors.

Prioritize organizational needs

As a manager, aligning your priorities with your company’s objectives shows strategic value and ensures your efforts contribute to the bigger picture. Familiarize yourself with organizational key results or departmental KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and understand clearly how your team fits into broader company strategies. Once you’ve covered this part, convert high-level goals into actionable tasks for your team. 

Stay flexible

Plans often encounter unforeseen hurdles. Be ready to adapt while keeping your long-term goals in mind. As a manager, adaptability is a critical skill that helps you navigate through unexpected challenges, demonstrates your problem-solving proficiency, and creates a sense of stability. Here are some protips to stay flexible under uncertain situations: 

• Have a plan for contingencies: Anticipate obstacles, such as a team member leaving or shifting organizational priorities.
• Iterate regularly: Review your progress weekly and recalibrate as needed. 
• Stay calm under pressure: Remain composed when plans shift, and guide your team through changes. 

Leverage resources

Great leaders know the value of collaboration and using external tools to enhance their approach. Seek guidance from mentors or experienced managers that can provide insight into best practices. This proactive approach sets the tone for collaborative leadership, as well as grants you access to resources that allow you to make informed decisions and find innovative solutions to challenges. 

Common pitfalls for managers and how to avoid them

New managers often face common challenges that can hinder their success. Here are some common obstacles both new and experienced managers can face to get through these pitfalls:

• Setting unrealistic expectations: While ambition is important, trying to achieve too much too soon can lead to burnout or erode trust with your team. Focus on achievable milestones and build gradually.
• Neglecting team chemistry: Productivity thrives on trust and collaboration. Invest time in fostering a supportive team culture, especially if you’re managing former peers or a diverse group.
• Overlooking organizational context: Understand your company’s culture, priorities, and ongoing challenges. Tailor your strategies to fit this unique environment rather than relying solely on past experiences.
• Failure to document progress: Track your goals and achievements. Regularly reviewing your plan with your manager ensures alignment and provides opportunities to course-correct when necessary.

What is a 30-60-90 day plan?

A 30-60-90 day plan is a structured framework that outlines your goals and actions for the first three months in a new role, job hunt, or any type of process. In the case of new managers, this tool serves as a guide to help them acclimate to their responsibilities while delivering measurable results that fulfill the employer’s expectations. 

Although 30-60-90 day plans are more common for newly promoted managers or new hires, experienced leaders can also benefit from this methodology, especially when they have new objectives assigned or face an unknown situation. Here is how managers can benefit from a 30-60-90 plan depending on their situation:

• New managers: It allows them to establish themselves in unfamiliar roles.
• Seasoned managers: It makes the transition into different organizations or taking on new teams smoother.
• Newly promoted managers: It helps to shift from peer to leader with clarity and confidence.

Why is a 30-60-90 day plan important for managers?

As mentioned above, 30-60-90 day plans work like a blueprint for managers as they allow them to prioritize their tasks, list vital work processes, set objectives and responsibilities, and measure progress. The ultimate goal is to ease the burden of organizing various obligations while still being able to deliver short and medium-term results. 

Here are a few more reasons why 30-60-90 plans are useful for managers: 

• Increases motivation: Provides clear direction, reducing uncertainty.
• Maintains productivity: Keeps you and your team focused on priorities that align with organizational goals.
• Builds Credibility: Shows your team, supervisors, and stakeholders that you’re proactive and committed to success.

How to create a 30-60-90 Day Plan

A successful 30-60-90 day plan requires a structured approach, careful planning, and a clear understanding of your goals; here’s a step-by-step for managers to create a successful plan:

Understand Employer Expectations

Before creating your plan, understand what your employer expects from you during your initial months. This foundation ensures your efforts contribute directly to organizational goals. Here are some steps you can follow to align with your employer’s expectations:

• Revisit the job description: If you’ve been promoted or hired recently, highlight the key deliverables and objectives mentioned during the hiring process.
• Engage your supervisor or stakeholders: Schedule a one-on-one to discuss their vision for your role, immediate priorities, and any pressing challenges.
• Study your company goals: Familiarize yourself with organizational strategies, current projects, and KPIs to understand how your role fits into the bigger picture.

Pro Tip: Create a list of specific outcomes your manager and stakeholders will likely value.

Visualize ideal outcomes

As paradoxical as it may seem, start with the end in mind. Imagine where you’d like to be at the 90-day mark and break it down into specific achievements for each phase. 

The plan’s first stage can be more oriented toward personal or individual goals; once completed, the 60-day mark can be more focused on team objectives; lastly, in the final phase, you should engage in strategic actions that positively influence the company’s broader goals. Here is a rough example of how it may look:

• Personal goals (skills or knowledge to excel in the role): Master the company’s project management tools by Day 30.
• Team goals (improvements to set up your team for success): Enhance team productivity by implementing a new process by Day 60.
• Strategic goals (contributions to the company’s goals): Develop a draft roadmap for Q3 initiatives by Day 90.

Pro Tip: Use visualization to create clarity. Picture yourself achieving specific milestones and identify the steps needed to get there.

Set milestones and KPIs for each phase

The main idea behind a 30-60-90 day plan is to divide the program into three phases, each with clear goals and measurable results. Here’s a breakdown of how you can structure your plan’s goals and KPIs

• First 30 days: Focus on setting the foundation for the rest of the plan by learning the company’s processes, building relationships, and understanding team dynamics.
  • Objective: Conduct one-on-one meetings with all team members to understand their roles and challenges (KPI: Number of one-on-ones completed).
  • Objective: Review key workflows and existing performance metrics to identify potential bottlenecks (KPI: Detailed notes summarizing team strengths and areas of improvement).
• 31-60-day phase: Implement solutions that align with the company’s goals so your team starts achieving quick wins that catch the eyes of stakeholders.
  • Objective: Collaborate with peers to develop shared team goals (KPI: Feedback from peers and team members on collaborative projects).
  • Objective: Introduce an initiative that enhances efficiency and communication, like a team-wide task tracker (KPI: Completing the initiative with measurable results).
• Last stage of the plan: Consolidate your progress by strategizing for the long run, measuring effectiveness, and setting the groundwork for future actions.
  • Objective: Propose a long-term plan to address key strategic goals for the next quarter (KPI: Completed proposal with stakeholder approval).
  • Objective: Host a team workshop to align everyone on upcoming priorities (KPI: Workshop participation and feedback metrics).

Develop actionable steps for each goal

Once you’ve set your plan’s milestones, you should break them down into specific tasks that allow you to ensure progress. Keep the amount of work per phase realistic, and prioritize the actions that directly influence the company’s objectives. Lastly, run regular check-ins with your manager and team to confirm you’re on the right track. 

Suppose you’ve set the objective of improving team collaboration by streamlining communication tools; here is a sample action plan to achieve this goal during the 60-day phase:

1. Assess the team’s current communication challenges via a survey.
2. Research and propose 2-3 tool options based on the team’s needs.
3. Pilot the new tool with a small subgroup.
4. Collect feedback, refine the process, and roll it out team-wide.

Best practices for 30-60-90 day plans

If you want to maximize the effectiveness of your 30-60-90 day plan, here are some pro tips you can follow to increase the rewards of your efforts:

• Integrate strategy with execution: Tie your goals to the business’ general objectives to reflect your strategic thinking.
• Balance quick wins with long-term impact: Early successes build confidence and momentum, but avoid focusing solely on short-term fixes.
• Use feedback loops: Schedule regular check-ins with your manager and team to assess progress and make necessary adjustments.
• Focus on team development: Empower your team and enhance morale and productivity by identifying strengths and addressing skill gaps.

30-60-90 day plan template for managers

In case you’re already hands-on with creating your own 30-60-90 day plan, here’s a template with some sample goals and actions you can use as a guide and adapt to your specific manager role:

30 Days [Start and end date of the first 30 days]

• Goals: Establish trust and learn organizational dynamics.
• Actions:
  • Conduct one-on-one meetings with all team members.
  • Review recent project reports to identify patterns and opportunities.
  • Shadow key processes to understand team workflows.

60 Days [Start and end date of the second 30 days]

• Goals: Begin implementing changes and achieving measurable results.
• Actions:
  • Launch a small initiative to improve team efficiency.
  • Collaborate with stakeholders to align priorities.
  • Analyze performance data to identify key areas for improvement.

90 Days [Start and end date of the last 30 days]

• Goals: Transition to long-term strategy development.
• Actions:
  • Host a review meeting to discuss achievements and next steps.
  • Refine team workflows based on performance metrics.
  • Propose a roadmap for upcoming projects.

A well-crafted 30-60-90 day plan is more than just a tool; it’s your gateway to building trust, achieving early wins, and setting yourself up for success as a manager. Whether you’re a new manager or stepping into a leadership role in a different organization, this framework provides the clarity and structure needed to thrive.

Contributed by Luis Arellano