Why "Just Doing the Job" Should Be the First 90-Day Goal

Not everyone shows up as a “rockstar” on day one, and they shouldn’t have to. When leaders expect excellence without investing in clarity and coaching, they are setting people up to fail. I recently watched this unfold, and watched how a simple shift in approach turned it around.

In a 1:1 with a people manager, we were reviewing a new hire in their final month of onboarding. The warning signs were there: missed follow-through, incomplete tasks, confusion on priorities. But as we dug in, it became clear the problem wasn’t just the person. It was the lack of feedback. The team was noticing issues, but no one was consistently naming them or walking through what “good” actually looked like. This is common, especially in fast-paced teams where everyone is overloaded.

In a later meeting with the CEO, the manager gave an update and used a version of what I had shared in our 1:1: “Since they’re still within their 90 days, the first goal is helping them do the job reliably before we expect above-and-beyond.” The CEO disagreed immediately: “No, we only want A+ rockstars. Excellence from the start.” This wasn’t the first time I had heard that perspective. But here’s the disconnect: excellence doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Even the best hires need structure, coaching, and time to adjust. Especially in companies with unclear processes or evolving expectations.

To the team’s credit, we didn’t just end the conversation there. Instead, someone stepped up to work directly with the new hire, shadowing them, giving feedback in real time, and showing what high-quality execution looked like. The result? Immediate improvement. Not because the person suddenly became a rockstar, but because we showed them what mattered and gave them space to meet that bar.

When leaders skip coaching in favor of pressure, they confuse urgency for clarity. They assume performance problems are personal, not systemic. But just like any IC role takes reps and rhythm, coaching others takes structure, patience, and consistency. Here’s the truth: you can’t demand excellence if you haven’t defined it. You can’t assess someone’s ceiling if they don’t know the floor. And you can’t expect greatness if you haven’t invested in the conditions that support it.

The first 90 days shouldn’t be about stardom. They should be about understanding, delivery, and repeatability. Only after someone can do the job should we ask them to outperform it. If you're building a team of A-players, build the system that teaches what A-level delivery looks like before you evaluate who can sustain it.

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