To build relationships with potential mentors or sponsors, replace the extractive ask of "Will you mentor me?" with the value-added offer of "How can I help you?". This non-transactional approach demonstrates your worth, builds genuine rapport, and makes influential people want to invest in your career.

Don't just ask executives what they want to achieve, as this puts them on the spot. Instead, proactively formulate a hypothesis about their goals and challenges. Presenting this gives them a concrete starting point to react to, confirm, or correct, leading to much faster alignment.

In your first 90 days, resist the urge to be the expert. Instead, conduct a "listening tour" by treating the organization as a product you're researching. Ask questions to understand how work gets done, what success looks like, and what challenges exist at a systemic level.

Before officially starting as CEO, Nicolai Tangen interviewed 140 employees with a single prompt: 'What's on your mind?' After about 70 conversations, clear patterns emerged, revealing the three most critical priorities for the organization. This process provides an unfiltered diagnostic and builds early trust.

A PM's first job is to earn influence, not exert authority. This is achieved with a 'listening tour'—proactively meeting key people in engineering, sales, and marketing to understand their challenges and build relationships before proposing any product work.

When hired externally into a role existing employees wanted, your first job is to build trust. Frame your presence as a net positive for their careers by understanding their goals and actively helping them grow. Show them you are an enabler for their success.

When you're hired into a leadership role, it's because the company needs something fixed. Conduct a "listening tour" specifically to understand the underlying issues. This reveals your true mandate, which is often a need for more innovation and faster speed to market.

To build alliances with C-suite peers like the CFO, a new executive should act as a 'servant leader.' Instead of asserting authority, frame your function's role as being in service of their agenda. Asking "how can we make your life easier?" builds trust and collaboration from day one.

When meeting with senior leaders, shift the focus from your status updates to their priorities. Ask what's top of mind for them, what challenges they face, and how you can help. This reframes you from a direct report into a strategic ally, building trust and social capital.