Be Like Water: Leadership Lessons for Your First 90 Days in a New Role

Be Like Water: Leadership Lessons for Your First 90 Days in a New Role

Author: Kevin Pannell July 2, 2026 Duration: 9:34

What should you do during your first days as a leader?

Many new managers and executives feel pressure to prove themselves by introducing new processes, reorganizing teams, or making immediate changes. But what if the best first move is something different?

Inspired by Bruce Lee's famous advice to "be like water," Kevin Pannell explores why effective leadership begins with observation, curiosity, and trust before transformation.

Drawing on lessons from the U.S. Navy, emergency management, healthcare IT, and years spent leading Project Management Offices, Kevin shares how experienced leaders can balance confidence with humility as they step into a new organization.

In this episode, you'll learn:

  • Why experience should help you ask better questions before providing better answers.
  • How to avoid solving the wrong problem during your first 90 days.
  • Why every process has a story worth understanding.
  • A practical leadership framework: Observe. Orient. Optimize.
  • How People. Process. Progress. creates sustainable organizational change.

Whether you're a PMO leader, project manager, executive, supervisor, entrepreneur, or simply beginning a new chapter in your career, this episode offers practical leadership advice you can apply immediately.

Mentioned in this Episode

  • Bruce Lee's "Be Like Water" philosophy
  • Building situational awareness before making change
  • Leadership transitions
  • PMO leadership
  • Organizational change management
  • Trust and stakeholder engagement

Connect with Kevin: ???? peopleprocessprogress.com |???? Instagram & X: @thekevinpannell |

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If You Enjoyed This Episode, please subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with someone beginning a new leadership role. Your support helps more leaders discover practical conversations about people, process, and progress.


Kevin Pannell has operated in environments where a single decision carries immense weight. As a former Navy Hospital Corpsman in critical care, a Firefighter/EMT, and now an Enterprise IT PMO leader, he’s learned that meticulous plans are only as good as the moment they fall apart. His People, Process, Progress podcast explores what happens next. This isn't theoretical management advice; it's a deep dive into the frameworks that actually function under pressure. Each episode draws direct lines between the sterile intensity of an ICU, the unpredictable chaos of a 911 call, and the complex political landscapes of modern corporate projects. You'll hear concrete stories and dissected strategies about guiding teams through uncertainty, adapting processes in real time, and finding a path forward when the expected one vanishes. The conversations are built on a simple, powerful premise: true progress isn't about avoiding failure, but about mastering your response to it. For anyone leading teams, managing careers, or simply interested in the mechanics of decisive action, this podcast offers a rare, grounded perspective. Tune in for honest discussions on resilience, leadership, and the practical tools that turn breakdowns into breakthroughs.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

People. Process. Progress.
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