All Aboard

A CEO I coached once told me about an lesson they learned years ago.  A new hire who showed up excited, qualified, and ready to go. She completed her HR paperwork, toured the building, got handed a staff handbook, and was introduced to a few people.   

Then she was left alone.

By week two, she looked frazzled. 

By week three, she was making repeated mistakes. 

By week four... she was gone.

The leader justified that this new hire was competent and the leader, herself, was overwhelmed and overbooked, and didn't have time to "hand-hold".  As the director reflected, “I assumed because she had experience, she didn’t need much from me. But I didn’t onboard her, I just hired her. And there’s a big difference.”

That story has stuck with me ever since.  Because whether you're bringing on an assistant, admin, executive, or teacher, how you bring someone into your culture is just as important as who you choose.

Onboarding Isn’t a Day - It’s a Process.  Too often, onboarding gets reduced to logistics:

 Sign this.

 Read that.

 Good luck!

But onboarding, when done with intention, is about so much more.  It sets the tone for:

 Psychological safety

 Cultural clarity

 Role ownership

 Trust and transparency

As a self-aware leader, your job isn’t just to orient. It’s to anchor.

Five Anchors for Intentional Onboarding

1. Clear Expectations

What exactly does “doing well” look like in this role? What are the tangible behaviors, attitudes, and priorities that matter most? Clarity now avoids confusion later.

2. Trust and Verify

Believe in your new hire’s ability, but don’t vanish. Check in. Observe. Offer feedback early and often. This isn’t micromanagement, it’s connection.

3. Frequent Feedback

Don’t wait for the 90-day review. Celebrate what’s going well. Redirect what’s off-course. Normalize communication as a two-way street.

4. Look for Loopholes

Every system has quirks. Are there hidden norms or culture gaps the new person wouldn’t know?  Watch for them. Name them. Make the invisible visible.

5. Create a Conscious Culture

Be intentional about how your team treats new members. Assign a peer mentor. Encourage team-wide ownership of onboarding. This isn’t just your job—it’s the team’s identity.

Reflection Questions

 How do I currently onboard new team members?

 What assumptions am I making about what they already know?

 What would it look like to create more clarity, safety, and support early on?

 Who on my team helps shape the culture for new hires—and do they know that?

Intentional onboarding doesn’t take more time, it takes more presence and intentionality.

If you want to build a team that feels seen, supported, and set up for success, it starts with how you bring them aboard.

For more grounded leadership tools and culture-building strategies, visit tessabrock.com.

You matter. Especially when you're shaping the experience that shapes your team. 

We’ve been connecting with clients to help them wrap up 2025 goals or get a head start on 2026- especially while current budgets are still available. Would you like us to look at that together? Contact me!