Join Our 5-Day Onboarding New Hires Challenge
Help new team members feel grounded, capable, and set up to succeed from day one
January and February often bring something predictable: new faces on your team.
New budgets kick in, roadmaps get finalized, and hiring managers (freshly back from the holidays) start filling roles that were on pause.
According to data from ZipRecruiter, job postings jump 15% in January, and hiring rates climb 30% compared to December.
Which means right now, a lot of you are about to welcome someone new to the team – or will be doing so in the not-so-distant future.
This makes it a great time to dig into onboarding. Most onboarding focuses on paperwork, systems access, and maybe a few “welcome to the team” meetings.
But I’ve found that all too often, the stuff that actually helps someone succeed gets left to chance.
Like knowing who’s who and who to go to for what, understanding the unspoken norms of the team, and knowing what success looks like in 30 days.
That’s why we created the 5-Day Onboarding New Hires Challenge – a practical series to help you set up new team members for real success, not just survival.
The challenge starts Monday, January 5th, 2026. Be sure you’re subscribed to participate!
What’s Coming Up
Each day of this 5-day experience walks you through one critical piece of effective onboarding – the kind that helps new hires feel capable, connected, and clear about their role.
By the end, you’ll have practical tools to support any new team member through those crucial first weeks.
You’ll learn how to:
Help them get the lay of the land so they know where to turn when they need help
Set up working conditions that match their actual needs
Clarify communication norms before silent pressure builds
Create a meaningful win within their first few weeks
Define what success looks like at 30, 60, and 90 days
Here’s What to Expect Each Day
Day 1: Help Them Get the Lay of the Land
New hires don’t just need an org chart – they need to know where to actually go when they’re stuck. You’ll learn how to help them get the lay of the land in a way that works for your workplace. The goal? Cutting through day-one overwhelm so they can feel oriented and confident faster.
Day 2: Establish Ideal Working Conditions
Great performance comes from good conditions, not guesswork. This day teaches you how to ask about energizers, drainers, best focus times, and boundaries – then translate those insights into actual team practices that work.
Day 3: Establish Communication Norms and Expectations
Unspoken norms become silent pressure. Is Slack asynchronous or does everyone expect immediate responses? Are people answering emails at 9pm? Without clarity, new team members might default to proving themselves by being “always on.” You’ll learn how to make these expectations visible before burnout starts.
Day 4: Create a First-Win Runway
A small, meaningful contribution in weeks 2-3 builds trust and usefulness fast. You’ll discover how to choose the right first project, define clear scope, and help your new hire build confidence quickly.
Day 5: Determine What Success Looks Like
Clear success markers reduce anxiety and align effort. This day shows you how to co-define outcomes for 30, 60, and 90 days – plus the behaviors and signals you’ll actually be looking for. No more guessing.
How to Join This Challenge
If you’re a paying subscriber, you’re already in – the challenge will land in your inbox automatically.
Free subscribers will get access to Day 1 and previews of the rest. To unlock the full challenge, you’ll need to upgrade your subscription.
Still a free subscriber? Claim your welcome discount to save 30% on an annual subscription.
Upgrading will give you access to this Onboarding New Hires series plus our complete leadership development archive, which covers the following topics and more:
The top 5 leadership challenges each personality type faces
Leading through uncertain times
Uncovering your Leadership style
Resolving conflict at work
Managing stress at work
Leading remote (or hybrid) teams
Managing up to your boss
Leading with emotional intelligence
See You Monday
New hires don’t just need access to systems – they need clarity, connection, and a real shot at early wins. This challenge will help you give them exactly that.
After the challenge, we’ll explore how each personality Role (Analysts, Diplomats, Sentinels, and Explorers) adjusts to a new job – the risks to watch for, the strengths they bring, and the leadership moves that help them thrive.
Can’t wait to get into this with you soon!
P.S. Want to start 2026 off strong? You might enjoy last January’s Smart Restart series. It will help you get yourself (and your team) out of the holiday haze and into momentum mode fast.
To begin, I’d suggest one of these articles:
