What Every New CEO Should Do in Their First 30 Days

Ternus, Apple’s senior vice president of hardware engineering who is known as the “hardware guy,” is well respected for his results, most notably the improved quality of Apple devices and new product launches such as the MacBook Neo. For any new CEO, such validation carries a distinct advantage inside and outside the company. 

However, like all new CEOs, Ternus faces a significant challenge, one he has to tackle in his first days on the job. Instead of being the one who delivers the next innovation, he must win over people across the organization who are motivated to stretch themselves, innovate, and deliver at their best. 

As new CEOs, executives must avoid the trap of making it all about them and instead create an environment in which talented people want to work for them. This dynamic is also playing out at organizations like Disney, where new CEO Josh D’Amaro must now lead peers, including those who were contenders for the top role. At Apple, it will be up to Ternus, described as a “low-profile but influential” executive who was the likely successor but not the only candidate for the job.   

The new-CEO playbook 

The importance of developing a team with varied and complementary strengths may seem obvious. However, it can be difficult when, as the new CEO, you are suddenly thrust into a spotlight far more intense than any you have experienced. For one thing, the CEO role is broader in scope and responsibility than any other leadership position in an organization, especially at Apple, a $4 trillion company. 

As CEO, you are now accountable to the board of directors and major investors, while also facing questions from Wall Street analysts, regulators, watchdogs and the media. Regardless of company size or industry, five priorities will define your first 30 days as the new CEO. 

1. Manage the fishbowl 

From day one, every new CEO is inevitably compared with their predecessors. Ternus is seen as having “big shoes to fill” at Apple as he follows in the footsteps of Cook, who has been hailed as an “operations guru,” and the visionary Apple founder Steve Jobs. As a new CEO, the constant observations and comparisons can make you feel as if you are in a fishbowl, with expectations for what you will accomplish and scrutiny over where you might stumble or fail. 

Self-reflection is a powerful tool for you to lead yourself, so you can lead others. As a foundational principle of values-based leadership, self-reflection helps you stay grounded in your own values and accountable for the consistency of your behavior and interactions with others. As you stay focused on who you are, what matters most, and how you can help others become their best, you are less likely to be distracted by what is said outside the fishbowl. 

2. Attract your followers 

In the years since Ternus joined Apple’s product-design team in 2001, he has made a name for himself on products from iPads to AirPods. Now, all those colleagues with whom he collaborated are going to be watching what Ternus does next as the CEO. Is this the same person they knew as a colleague and friend? Or will the new title turn him into someone else? 

It is the same for you as a new leader. Leadership at this level is not a reward for past accomplishments; it is a test of whether others choose to follow you. People will only follow if you are relatable to them and if they can relate to you. 

3. Empower the best team 

In every organization and at every level, the best teams form when people come together with a common sense of purpose and a passion for what they want to accomplish. Even at high-performance companies like Apple, this does not happen automatically. 

As a new CEO, you need to engage others, starting with the senior people across the organization, with assurance that their feedback and input are not only important but also required. If the final decision you make differs from what some people recommend, you will reach out to those team members to explain your reasoning. If people feel listened to and respected, they will support the decision you make. 

4. Focus on what is next 

With a leadership change comes the opportunity to revisit and revamp strategy. No matter how well a company is doing, CEO transitions prompt questions about what the new leader will focus on, change, and improve. 

Although he will not take over officially as CEO until September, Ternus is already being observed closely for any hints of what he will do around AI, where Apple has lagged the mega-investments of other competitors. As Ternus takes the helm, he will have to decide how best to steer Apple toward a more AI-driven future. 

As a new CEO, you face the same expectations: to not simply follow other companies but to create the change to which others react. 

5. Build a sounding board 

The higher you rise, the more essential it becomes to have people who will tell you the truth. For me, that person is my wife, Julie. Whenever I was promoted—including when I became CEO of Baxter International, a $12 billion healthcare company—she would always say how proud she was of me. In the next breath she would remind me, “Harry, we’re not going to change the way we live, right?” 

In the same way, you need a sounding board composed of a variety of people, such as a spouse or partner or close friend, a board member (or two), a former colleague now leading another company, or a professional coach. Each of these people has a unique perspective on you, your leadership, and the kind of support and honesty to remind you of who you are, as a person, not just as a leader. 

The first 30 days do not define you as the new CEO, but they do set the tone. People inside the company will be watching closely for what it will be like to work with you. Your first priority is to demonstrate that your focus is not on what you accomplish alone but on how well you support and empower others to achieve success. 

* 

This article originally appeared in Forbes.