Tips for New Chief Executives

Learn the staff’s language.

Talk to the organization’s employees in a style that resonates with them, advises Pat Nichols, president of Transition Leadership International, a consulting group.

Get your hands dirty.

Spend a few days in the shop getting acquainted and being available. But before too long, says Mr. Nichols, get out in the field and experience how the charity implements its mission: “Put food on the plate, tutor the kid, engage in service in the most tactile way possible.”

Meet with crucial donors early.

Productive, informal conversations happen most easily in those first few weeks on the job, says Mr. Nichols: “If you’ve been there too long, they want you to come in with answers.” If a donor is wavering in his or her support, he adds, a few days after taking the helm is not too soon to schedule a meeting.

Don’t be critical of your predecessor.

As a new leader learns more about the way an organization functions, there will inevitably be surprises. But no matter how strong the urge, “you never want to say anything negative about the previous leader,” says Frances Kunreuther, director of the Building Movement Project, which helps social-change organizations manage themselves more effectively. Instead, she says, cultivate “a good edit function.”

Know your weaknesses.

Shore them up, Ms. Kunreuther advises, and be realistic about what can and can’t be done. And know where to turn for support—perhaps a coach, the chairman of the board, or a close friend or relative?

“Some people really try to do it on their own,” she says, “and that’s a real problem.”

Build a diverse circle of advisers.

Mark Lipton, a professor of management at the New School, advocates for new leaders to surround themselves with a variety of viewpoints, ideas, and temperaments. And above all else, he says, have a vision.

—Libby Sander