How To Join And Successfully Lead A New Team

A few years ago, I joined a new organization managing an existing, well-established team. I was an experienced manager at the time with a solid 10 years behind me. I had built teams up from scratch and learnt to lead people through some difficult times. But I’d never taken over an experienced team in a new company. The prospect frightened me.

Looking back, there were some real challenges along the way. Not only did I have to manage the team from day 1, but I had to learn work processes, culture and all the normal things you’d expect to learn when you join a new company.

Overall though, I believe it was a success. In fact, in many ways it went beyond my expectations — we increased productivity, lowered churn rate and achieved goals we didn’t think were possible. Not only that, but I really believe I made a positive impact on many of my team’s professional lives. I nurtured and grew that team into a well functioning unit that I think many of them will remember for the rest of their lives.

As bumpy as the journey was, there were a few things that stood out to me more than others in making the process a success.

Here’s what I learned.

Understand where your team are coming from

Remember that your ultimate success (or failure) depends on the team and how they perform. Invest in them early on, and don’t forget that they’ve probably also been apprehensive about your arrival.

Listen to them and get a good understanding of their current frustrations, challenges and what’s working. Don’t make promises you can’t keep, and don’t attempt to make changes until you’ve established trends.

Be quiet and ask questions

When you’re new to the company, resist the urge to say something for the sake of saying it. Sometimes we feel we need to contribute in some way, only to make a good impression. This doesn’t always work. It’s ok to be quiet.

Taking in as much as you can early on is vital to your success. Listen to everything, take notes and pay attention to tone and body language when certain topics are discussed. Learn what’s important to who in the company. Get to grips with the inevitable politics — it will help you prioritize what’s important and get some early wins.

Ask questions. Ask as many as you can. The time will come when you’re expected to have a certain amount of assumed knowledge, and you don’t want to be caught out because you didn’t ask the right questions when you had the chance.

The right questions at the right time will show that you’re engaged and eager to learn.

Most of all, enjoy the process. It’s a chance to learn new things, explore possibilities and invest in your personal growth.

Build trust

Build trust from day one. If your team doesn’t trust you, you’ll fail as a leader and fail as a manager. Harsh, I know, but trust is vital. As the old saying goes, “People don’t leave companies, they leave managers.” Not always true, but if they don’t trust you, they’ll leave you. It‘s that simple.

I built trust with my team by listening to what their concerns were, asking specific questions and opening up about myself — my family, my career, and similar challenges I had faced in my working life.

This way, I was able to connect with them on a more human level, and build that lifeline between them and myself.

Let go of mistakes

You’re going to make mistakes. That’s inevitable. If they’re small mistakes, let them go quickly and move on. If they’re significant, allow yourself a day of self-annihilation (if that’s what you’re inclined to do) and move on.

Gather up the key learnings, dust yourself off and be grateful for the experience.

Likewise, your team will make mistakes. Help them learn from their blunders which will allow them the space to move on.

Develop your team

Find strengths early on. Too often, we get so focused on what we think isn’t working, that we overlook what is working well. Individuals within the team will likely have things they prefer doing as well as things they’re good at. Allow them to develop in these areas while encouraging learning and growth wherever possible.

Don’t worry about what people think

A tough one for many of us.

When I first started as a manager, I wanted to be liked. That’s how I measured a good deal of my success. My logic went something like this; If my team liked me, then they’ll perform to the best of their ability. As you can imagine, I was very wrong.

Being liked should be the last thing on your mind. You’re going to make changes that won’t always resonate with everyone, but if you have good reason to implement those changes, then a bit of unpopularity is just part of the job. Don’t be afraid of being disliked. We’re all different. Embrace it.

It takes patience, resilience and a few honest mistakes to win over a new team. Get to know them as people. If they talk about their families and use names, remember those names. It goes a long way when you understand what’s important to them.

Above all, stay humble and stay curious. You’ll never stop learning.