Stepping into a charity CEO role often means picking things up mid-flow, with expectations already forming around you. Boards want reassurance, teams want clarity, and funders and partners are often watching closely.
There can be an unspoken expectation that a new CEO will arrive with answers and start making changes quickly.
The question of what a new leader should prioritise in their first few months is something we hear frequently in interviews. Boards often ask candidates some version of: “What would your first 90 days look like?
Because we support charities to appoint CEOs and senior leaders, we hear many different versions of that answer. Candidates usually arrive having researched the organisation carefully and outline thoughtful plans for how they would approach those early months.
What stands out is that the strongest candidates rarely talk first about structural change or bold announcements. Instead, they focus on understanding the organisation, building relationships and listening carefully before making major decisions.
In reality, once someone is in the role, the first 90 days are rarely about dramatic change. They are about building the foundations that make good leadership possible.
Read more: Your guide to becoming a charity CEO
So what should a new charity CEO focus on first, and what can reasonably wait?
Listen widely before deciding anything
Most CEOs arrive with instincts about what they might want to change. The risk is acting on those instincts too quickly.
The first few weeks offer a rare window when people across the organisation are willing to speak openly to a new leader. That opportunity is worth using fully.
Strong CEOs use this time to listen to a wide range of voices, including:
- Trustees
- Senior leaders
- Frontline staff and volunteers
- Service users
- Key partners and funders
These conversations often surface insights that never appear in board papers or strategy documents.
They also reveal where perspectives differ across the organisation. What the board sees as a strategic challenge might look very different to a frontline team or service user.
Listening well does two things. It builds a clearer picture of the organisation and it signals something about your leadership style. People notice whether a new CEO arrives ready to listen or ready to fix.
Read more: Advice for aspiring charity CEOs: Here’s what every future CEO should be thinking about
Invest early in the CEO–Chair relationship
The relationship between a CEO and their Chair is one of the most important partnerships in any charity.
When this relationship works well, it creates stability for the organisation. When it doesn’t, tensions can quickly surface at board level and within the senior team.
The first 90 days are the time to build clarity and trust. That often means having open conversations about expectations early on.
For example:
- How frequently should you communicate outside formal meetings?
- What level of detail does the Chair want in updates?
- How will you approach difficult decisions together?
Strong CEO–Chair relationships are rarely purely formal. They rely on trust, transparency and a shared understanding of how leadership and governance work together.
Getting this relationship right early can make a significant difference to how confidently a CEO is able to lead.
Read more: How chairs and chief executives navigate challenge together
Understand how the strategy works in practice
Most CEOs inherit a strategy rather than creating one immediately.
The instinct can be to revisit or rewrite it. But the more useful first step is usually understanding how the strategy is experienced across the organisation.
Questions worth exploring include:
- Do teams understand the strategic priorities?
- Are resources aligned with them?
- Are there practical barriers to delivery?
In many charities, the strategy itself is not the problem. The challenge is implementation.
Taking time to understand what is happening on the ground allows you to decide whether the strategy needs to evolve or whether the real task is enabling delivery.
Read more: 10 essential skills for charity CEOs (and how to develop them)
Pay attention to culture, not just structure
New leaders often look first at structure: reporting lines, roles and organisational charts.
But culture is often the factor that most strongly shapes whether an organisation thrives.
The early months are a valuable time to observe how things really work:
- How do decisions get made?
- Where does influence sit formally and informally?
- What behaviours are encouraged or discouraged?
- How does the organisation respond when things go wrong?
These patterns can be harder to see once you are fully embedded.
Understanding culture early allows you to reinforce the positive elements and address areas that may be holding the organisation back.
Read more: How to hire for culture add, not just culture fit
Spend time close to the mission
The pressure of leadership can quickly pull CEOs into meetings, governance and operational issues.
The early months are a good opportunity to reconnect directly with the organisation’s purpose.
That might involve visiting services, meeting the people who benefit from the charity’s work, or spending time with frontline teams.
These experiences often shape a CEO’s priorities far more clearly than internal reports.
They also send a strong signal about what matters. When leaders take time to understand the work happening on the ground, it reinforces the purpose behind the organisation.
What can wait in your first 90 days as a charity CEO
Alongside these early priorities, there are some things that usually do not need to happen immediately.
Major restructuring
Large organisational changes introduced too early can create uncertainty and erode trust. Unless there is an urgent need, it is usually better to understand the organisation first.
Rewriting the strategy
A new CEO may eventually want to reshape the strategic direction. But doing so without understanding how the current strategy has been experienced can lead to repeating the same challenges.
Launching multiple new initiatives
Energy and ideas are valuable, but introducing too much too quickly can overwhelm teams who are still adjusting to new leadership.
Read more: The future of not for profit leadership in the UK
Your first 90 days as a charity CEO are about getting to know people, understanding how things really work, and building trust.
In interviews, this period can sound structured and well planned. Once you are in the role, it is often less predictable and more shaped by what you learn day to day.
You do not need to have all the answers in your first three months. Taking time to listen, ask questions and build relationships will give you a much stronger foundation for what comes next.
Clare Chesworth is Head of Social Justice at Peridot. She is passionate about recruiting executive and board leaders for organisations supporting marginalised communities. With an empathetic and driven approach, Clare can find the right leaders to suit your mission.
