As Global Head of Research & Leadership Advisory at JRG Partners, I want to lay out what actually works here, because the gap between common practice and best practice on this topic is wide. The pressure on a new executive to act immediately is intense, from themselves and from an organization expecting impact. The best of them resist it. A deliberate listening tour in the first 30 days builds the understanding and relationships that everything afterward depends on, and the executives who invest in listening before acting consistently outperform those who rush to act.
Key Takeaways
- New executives face pressure to act immediately; the best resist it early.
- A first-30-days listening tour builds understanding and relationships before action.
- Listening surfaces the real situation, which differs from the assumed one.
- It builds the relationships and trust that later action requires.
- Rushing to act before understanding is a common, costly new-executive error.
The Pressure to Act Immediately
A new executive arrives under pressure to demonstrate impact fast, from an organization eager for change, from a board expecting results, and from their own desire to prove themselves. This pressure pushes toward immediate action, and many new executives succumb, making significant moves before they understand the situation. But acting before understanding is how new executives make avoidable mistakes and alienate the people whose support they need. The discipline to resist the pressure to act immediately is what separates strong starts from stumbling ones.
What a Listening Tour Is
A listening tour is a deliberate investment, typically in the first 30 days, in understanding before acting: meeting broadly across the organization, asking questions, listening to how people see the situation, and learning the reality rather than assuming it. It spans the team, peers, key stakeholders, and often customers, and it prioritizes understanding over deciding. The listening tour is the new executive’s structured way of learning the real situation and building relationships before they commit to a direction.
Surfacing the Real Situation
One core value of listening is that the real situation almost always differs from the assumed one. The picture a new executive formed during the search, or from the surface, is incomplete and often wrong in important ways, and listening surfaces the reality: the actual problems, the real dynamics, the hidden issues, the true state of the team and the work. Acting on the assumed situation leads to mistakes; acting on the understood situation, revealed through listening, leads to sound decisions. The tour is how the executive learns what is actually true.
Building Relationships and Trust
Beyond understanding, the listening tour builds relationships and trust. By listening genuinely, the new executive signals respect, learns who the people are, and begins the relationships that later action depends on. People who feel heard by a new leader are more inclined to trust and support them; people who feel steamrolled by a leader who acted without listening are not. The relationships and trust built through listening are the foundation on which the executive’s later effectiveness rests.
From Listening to Action
The listening tour is not an end in itself but the foundation for action, and the transition from listening to acting matters. After genuinely understanding the situation and building relationships, the executive is positioned to act with insight and support, on the real problems, with the trust of the people, rather than on assumptions and alone. The best new executives use the first 30 days to listen deeply, then act decisively on what they learned. Listening first does not mean acting slowly forever; it means acting well, informed and supported.
What This Looks Like in Practice
In practice, a listening tour means the new executive spends much of their first 30 days meeting broadly, team, peers, stakeholders, customers, asking questions and genuinely listening rather than pronouncing, learning the real situation and building relationships. They resist the pressure to make significant moves before they understand, treating early listening as the investment that makes later action sound and supported. Then, informed by what they learned and backed by relationships they built, they act decisively on the real problems. The listening precedes and enables the action.
The Mistake Employers Keep Making
The mistake is succumbing to the pressure to act immediately, making significant moves before understanding the real situation or building relationships, and thereby making avoidable mistakes and alienating the people whose support the executive needs. New executives who rush to prove themselves through early action, skipping the listening, stumble on the reality they never learned. The fix is a deliberate listening tour that builds understanding and relationships before decisive, informed action.
The Bottom Line
A deliberate listening tour in the first 30 days builds the understanding of the real situation and the relationships that everything a new executive does afterward depends on, and resisting the pressure to act before listening is what separates strong starts from costly stumbles. The difference between employers who get this right and those who don’t is rarely resources; it is discipline, clarity, and the willingness to act on what they already know.
Related Reading
For employers going deeper, see How to Onboard an Executive Into a Skeptical Leadership Team, Early Wins, What Is a Skip-Level Meeting and How Should New Executives Use Them.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Q: What is a listening tour for a new executive?
- A: A deliberate first-30-days investment in understanding before acting, meeting broadly, asking questions, and learning the real situation and people rather than assuming.
- Q: Why should a new executive listen before acting?
- A: Because the real situation almost always differs from the assumed one, and acting before understanding leads to avoidable mistakes and alienates needed supporters.
- Q: What does a listening tour build?
- A: Understanding of the real situation and the relationships and trust that the executive’s later action depends on.
- Q: Does listening first mean acting slowly?
- A: No; it means acting well, after understanding and building relationships, the executive can then act decisively and with support on the real problems.
- Q: What is the danger of skipping the listening tour?
- A: Making significant moves on an assumed situation, producing avoidable mistakes and alienating the people whose support the executive needs.
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Tanya Gallardo
Managing Director, Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy
Tanya Gallardo is the Managing Director of Executive Search & AI Talent Strategy at JRG Partners, leading C-suite and Board engagements across key growth sectors including Technology, Financial Services, and Manufacturing.
With over 18 years of experience specializing in disruptive technology leadership, Tanya is recognized as a leading authority on talent architecture for future-focused executive roles, such as the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and Chief Digital Officer (CDO). Her expertise lies in accurately assessing the cultural fit and technical depth required to ensure a high return on investment (ROI) for critical leadership appointments.
Prior to her role at JRG Partners, Tanya held senior roles directing global talent acquisition strategies at a major publicly-traded technology firm, advising on organizational design and succession planning for emerging executive functions. She is a recognized speaker and contributor to industry events, sharing data-driven insights on executive compensation, leadership development, and the measurable business impact of C-suite talent.
