When you start a new job, there is so much to learn about the role, your manager, the team, and the company. One of the essential things that you need to understand is what qualifies as “great performance.”

Different companies and different managers have entirely different definitions of success. What may have passed for “exceeding expectations” in your previous job may only qualify as “meeting expectations” in your new job.

There is no single source of truth, unfortunately. Your best chance is to gather as much information as possible and look for recurring patterns.

First, meet with your manager and find out what they would most like to see you accomplish in your first 90 days, and the first six months. You should also ask what excellent performance looks like at the company for an employee in your role.

What is your manager expecting from you? Based on that information, you can start to plan out what exceeding those expectations would require.

Next, meet with your coworkers and star…