Senior hires fail on culture and politics, not competence. New leaders run blind for months.
Network-aware onboarding for senior hires and executive transitions, designed around the relationships that actually decide whether they succeed.
- Organisational Network Analysis
- Stakeholder mapping
- Sensemaking
The problem in depth
Around 70 percent of executive onboarding failures are attributed to culture and politics, not competence. New leaders are dropped into organisations whose informal fabric they cannot see, and asked to lead change inside it within weeks.
The standard kit (welcome decks, three-month plans, a calendar full of one-to-ones) does almost nothing to address that. It treats onboarding as orientation, when the real challenge is integration into a network the new leader has not yet mapped.
DreamWorkplace is a different kit. It maps the network for them. It sequences who they should meet, in what order, and with what context. It treats the first 90 days as a deliberate sensemaking project.
What I deliver
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Pre-arrival network map
An ONA read of the network the new leader is walking into, with the brokers, the cliques, and the load-bearing relationships named.
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Integration roadmap
A sequenced plan of the first 90 days, structured around the relationships that matter most to whether the role succeeds.
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Context briefings
Short, high-signal briefings on the cultural patterns and political dynamics the new leader will need to read inside the first month.
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Sensemaking checkpoints
Structured 30-, 60-, and 90-day reviews with the new leader, focused on what they are noticing versus what the data suggests.
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Sponsor playbook
A short guide for the executive sponsor on how to support integration without micromanaging it.
How I work
I am usually engaged by the executive sponsor or the head of HR. The new leader is the customer. Deliverables are private to them, with a sponsor-shareable summary at each checkpoint.
Worked example
A new CTO joining a 2,000-person org with two competing engineering cultures post-merger. The pre-arrival network map made the fault lines visible on day one. The 30-day plan put the right ten conversations ahead of the visible top-three sponsors. By 90 days the CTO had a coalition rather than a calendar.
The first 90 days, as a tracker
Each stage is sequenced around the relationships that decide whether a senior leader's transition succeeds. The plan is private to the leader; the cadence is what the sponsor sees.
- ✓Day 0
Pre-arrival map
ONA snapshot of the network the new leader is walking into. Brokers, cliques, fault lines named.
- 2Day 1–14
Listening loop
A sequenced set of conversations chosen to triangulate what the data suggests, not just the loudest sponsors.
- 3Day 15–45
Hypothesis sharpening
The leader's read of the room cross-checked with sensemaking sessions and a 30-day review.
- 4Day 46–90
Coalition building
Deliberate moves that consolidate or bridge groups, with a 90-day handover into ongoing rhythm.
Discuss a dreamworkplace onboarding engagement.
A 30-minute conversation is enough to know if we should keep talking.