The Leader's Portal

The First 90 Days: How Credibility Is Earned, Not Announced Your first months as a leader are not about proving yourself. They are about teaching people how to read you. For many first-time leaders, the first 90 days feel emotionally charged. Every decision feels visible. Every silence feels judged. There is often a quiet belief that this period will define your entire leadership future. It won’t define you — but it will strongly influence whether people trust you, understand you, and feel safe with you. In other words, it shapes your credibility. Beneath the visible tasks — meetings, plans, decisions — runs a quieter task: helping people make sense of who you are. They are asking themselves questions you may never hear out loud: Can I trust their intent? Are they competent? Are they predictable? How do they handle pressure? Days 1–30, credibility is built through attention, not action. The temptation to fix things quickly is strong, especially if you want to justify your promotion. ...

  The GRASP method to designing and delivering training When designing a training session or workshop, I use the GRASP method as a guide. The elements don’t have to be followed in the order they are spelled out, but I often begin with the G and the P . GRASP stands for Goal, Relevance, Application, Structure, and Participation. Goal What is the overall goal and purpose of the exercise or training? What learning are you hoping to draw out through this particular activity? Why are you doing it at all? Is the purpose clear from the beginning, or will it emerge during the exercise or debrief? Relevance How is the exercise relevant to the overall training and to the participants themselves? How are they likely to connect with the activity and the embedded learning? What debrief questions will help them link the experience to their real life and work? (Tip: strong, well-phrased debrief questions often make the difference between “fun act...

 Stephen Merchant, a singing chef and forging creative space. Image courtesy of Wikimedia. I recently watched an interview with Stephen Merchant on Seth Meyers' show, where he shared a fascinating story about how he encouraged his writers to come up with insults directed at him. This exercise, while humorous, was also a deliberate attempt to create a psychologically safe environment—one where his team felt comfortable enough to express themselves freely, even if it meant poking fun at him. The clip can be found online if you search for "Stephen Merchant Seth Meyers insults." or here https://www.tiktok.com/@latenightseth/video/7377777653098482987 Around the same time, I attended a wedding where I witnessed something similar. Guests at the reception felt uninhibited enough to pick up their napkins and spin them in the air while singing, prompted by a singing chef who had clearly made it safe for them to engage in such a playful act (yes even I did it). This seemingly s...