Seven Priorities for every GCC Leader in the First 180 days
Why the first six months can make or break your GCC journey
The first few months of running a Global Capability Center (GCC) is a whirlwind. The excitement of opening the doors is quickly followed by the reality of hiring plans, enterprise demands, vendor conversations, and leadership expectations.
And in that flurry, most leaders get pulled into the urgent — firefighting, checklists, escalations. But the real differentiator lies in the intentional choices you make in those early days.
Having walked this path before — building, scaling, and transforming GCCs — I can tell you: these 180 days lay the foundation for everything that follows. Here are seven priorities that can set up both you and your GCC for long-term credibility and impact.
1. Put Together a Site Playbook — Early and Thoughtfully
Your Site Playbook isn’t just a document. It’s the operating manual for how your GCC works. It outlines your day-to-day rhythm, governance principles, decision-making protocols, escalation paths, and risk practices.
Done well, it sends a powerful message to the enterprise: “We’re not just reacting. We’re building with clarity and intent.” This becomes your anchor as new teams, functions, and leadership layers get added.
2. Get Third-Party Governance Right from the Start
Every GCC depends on a partner ecosystem — vendors, consultants, technology platforms, service providers. Early-stage complacency here can turn into expensive operational risks later.
Build clear governance guardrails: approval workflows, visibility into fourth-party dependencies, compliance checkpoints, and performance metrics. This is the unglamorous but critical backbone that allows scale without chaos.
3. Listen Closely to Your First Cohort
Your earliest employees are not just headcount — they are your cultural barometer. Their experience tells you whether your Employee Value Proposition (EVP) is working or not.
Engage them, seek real feedback, and act on it. When they feel seen, they become your most credible ambassadors inside and outside the organization. And in the GCC world, reputation spreads fast.
4. Leave Room for Flexibility — But Protect the Core
In the early months, different business units will approach you with a wide range of asks — urgent proof-of-concepts, backlog work, niche projects.
Not every ask should be a “yes.” Instead, create an intake and prioritization model that allows for flexibility but protects your original business case. It helps you scale on your terms — not get consumed by everyone else’s priorities.
5. Celebrate Wins — Even the Small Ones
The early phase comes with inevitable bumps: process gaps, tech teething issues, hiring lags. But this is also when culture gets shaped.
Recognize quick wins. Celebrate cross-functional collaboration. Be visible in leaning into a “One Team” mindset with the enterprise. Small, well-timed recognition can fuel a disproportionately strong sense of shared purpose.
6. Talk About Value, Not Just Costs
GCCs often get boxed into cost conversations — FTE numbers, savings targets, budget asks. But what builds lasting credibility with enterprise leadership is a clear value narrative.
Pair operational metrics (speed, quality, savings) with stories of innovation, collaboration, and problem-solving. Value creation must become part of your daily vocabulary.
7. Build Your Own Risk Muscle — Don’t Just Mirror Enterprise
Most GCCs adopt enterprise risk frameworks, but that’s not enough. Your context is different.
Bring HR, Procurement, and Internal Audit into the tent early. Look at risks across contracts, people, compliance blind spots, talent leakage, and operational resilience. Building your own risk muscle early creates a GCC that’s trusted, not just tolerated.
Final Thought: The First Year Is Your Strategic Inflection Point
The first year isn’t just about keeping the lights on. It’s when you earn trust, shape perceptions, and set a cultural and operational blueprint.
Focus deliberately on these seven areas and you’ll do more than meet enterprise expectations — you’ll position your GCC as a growth engine, not just a cost center.