Get it on Google Play

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
People. Process. Progress.
BusinessCareersEducationHealth & FitnessManagementSelf Improvement

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 |

???? YouTube: Own, Move, Anchor

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

Official website RSS
instagramyoutubetiktoklinkedin
People. Process. Progress.
Podcast Episodes
Move Your Body: From Optional to Non-Negotiable [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:27
Move Your Body: From Optional to Non-NegotiableBuilding fitness into who you are will always outperform trying to motivate yourself every day. In this episode of Own. Move. Anchor., Kevin breaks down how movement shifted…
The Only Thing You Truly Control [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:40
This Foundation Friday, Control Your Reactions Before They Control You, builds on the concept of the space between reaction and response and brings it into real life.Through a simple but relatable moment at home, Kevin w…
The Most Important Lesson Viktor Frankl Taught Me [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 7:43
Stop reacting and start responding. In the premiere of the rebranded Own. Move. Anchor., Kevin Pannell explores the life-changing power of "The Space Between"—the split-second where you reclaim control, even when circums…
Beyond 100%: Why Full Capacity Breaks Teams and What to Do Instead [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:47
Most teams plan to 100% capacity and call it efficiency. In reality, that’s where things start to break.In this episode, I walk through a better way to think about capacity, not as a percentage on a heatmap, but as a bal…
The First 30 Days Will Make or Break Your Project [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:03
Many projects struggle not because of poor execution, but because alignment was never built at the start. In this episode, The First 30 Days Will Make or Break Your Project, Kevin Pannell shares practical leadership less…
Why Feeling Behind Is Killing Your Progress [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:34
A lot of young people feel like they are already late. Late to choose the right major, late to land the right job, late to make real money, late to figure life out. In this episode, Why Feeling Behind Is Killing Your Pro…
What Grief Teaches You About Strength [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:01
This week’s episode, What Grief Teaches You About Strength, is about the weight of losing brothers and sisters in public safety, the responsibility of planning line of duty death services, and how to move through grief i…
Real Lessons From Building Something That Matters [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 3:10
In this Faith in Action Friday episod, Real Lessons From Building Something That Matters, I follow up on my recent conversation with Jennifer Prevette, founder of The Burg Box, and reflect on what Own. Move. Anchor. real…

«12345»