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Tim is nervous. He's about to start a new job as the boss of people he doesn't know. He's not coming as a savior. The team is performing up to standard, even though it could do better.
Tim has the same question most new bosses have. What should I do?
Start by learning about your people and the situation. This team isn't in trouble. You don't have to take drastic action, so take the time to get to know them and to let them get to know you. Start by getting everyone together.
Getting to Know Me
You want to meet with the team and with every member individually. Start with the team meeting so everyone hears the same basic information at the same time.
The people on your team want to know about you. They want to know who you are and where you came from and why you wound up as their boss. Most of all they want to know what your coming means for them.
Tell them how you got there. If you tell it as a short story (less than 5 minutes) you'll find it easier for you and comfortable for them.
Tell them what you're going to do next. Tell them that you'll be talking to each one of them. They need to know that you'll be gathering information and impressions before you make any changes.
Let them know your expectations.
Sharpe's Speech
Bernard Cornwell is a great historical novelist. One of his series is about Richard Sharpe who starts out as a private in the British Army and rises from the ranks, finally fighting with Wellington at Waterloo. It's a great read if you like military history and historical novels.
The novel Sharpe's Rifles is set just after Sharpe has been promoted from the ranks to Lieutenant. He's trying to learn what it's like to lead as an officer. He gets a lesson from a Spanish officer and nobleman, Blas Vivar.
Vivar tells Sharpe that he should tell his soldiers what he expects from them. The message should be short and clear. Here are Vivar's three rules
"They must not steal unless they will die for not stealing, they must look after their horses before themselves, and they must fight like heroes."
Richard Sharpe modified Vivar's rules to suit his own situation, but he kept the number to three and he kept them simple. You need something similar to share. People want to know what's expected of them. On the first day, Tim might say something like this.
I expect you to do your work as well as you can.
I want you to help the team succeed. Right now one way to do that is to help me understand things.
I expect you to help me and your team members stay out of trouble.
Once you've had your meeting and laid out expectations, it's time to meet with your people one-on-one and ask some questions.
Asking Questions One-on-One
The members of your team have been in their positions longer than you've been in your position. They know more about how things work. They're also concerned about how things will go for them in the future.
Meet with each person individually so you can get their honest opinion and so you can learn about each other. Pick a time and place where you won't be interrupted.
Ask them questions that will help you understand what's important and which give each one of your people an opportunity to share what's important to them. Here are some questions to pick from.
What should I know about you?
What shouldn't change and why?
What are the three most important things we need to change and why?
What do you hope I will do?
What are you afraid I may do?
Is there anything else that I should know?
Learning About Your People
It helps if you have a simple, structured way to learn about your people. Usually you won't do this with direct questions, but with observation. But beware, you're probably going to need to take notes after you meet with someone or your learning will fly away on the wind.
What's their natural pace? Are they fast or slow?
Do they seem more concerned with results or with relationships?
What are their hobbies and interests?
What is their family situation?
What are their career goals?
If you make your expectations clear, take time to learn about the situation and learn about your people you'll be well on your way to success.
There are two times in your professional life when you'll experience the anxiety and hope that comes with having a new boss: when you begin a new job and when your boss is the newbie. Both situations are fraught with potential landmines, but both are also opportunities to create a wonderful working relationship with your manager. These tips will help you make the most of having a new boss.
When You're New
• Get his ear early and often. The best way to impress a new boss and forge a smooth working relationship is to establish clear expectations. As soon as you've gotten a few days of orientation under your belt, request a meeting with your boss to discuss her priorities for you and how your success will be measured. That lets her know that doing well is important to you, and it gives you clear, measurable guidelines for your performance. Make a point of meeting regularly to talk through new priorities and any potential problems.
• Communicate your feelings professionally. It's typical for new employees to feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things they need to learn in a new job. And when most people feel overwhelmed, they become quiet, edgy, or even visibly irritated. Stay in tune with how you're feeling and how you may be coming across to others. If you feel yourself shutting down or getting testy, it's okay to say something like, “I really appreciate everything I'm learning, and if I seem quiet, it's just because I'm processing it.” Your boss will understand.
• Ride out the bumps—for a while. You're going into your new job with high hopes, right? After all, you wouldn't have signed on if you thought it would be dreadful. So it can be a shock if you discover that you don't especially like your new boss. The best thing to do is give it time. Relationships can change, and the first few months are rarely a blueprint for how you'll eventually interact with your boss. However, if your boss is doing anything illegal—or asking you to do anything illegal—run.
• Check your ego at the door. It's tempting to start making suggestions about how to improve things in your new office as soon as you arrive. And you might assume that your boss would welcome an “outside” opinion on things. Wrong. It's important to get the lay of the land and understand how and why things work before you jump in and try to fix things that your boss may not want fixed. You'll have plenty of opportunities later to voice an opinion.
When Your Boss is New
• Rein in your expectations. Whether you had the most successful relationship in the history of the world with your previous boss—or it was so bad it made you physically ill—you're likely thinking one of two things about the person sent to fill those shoes: it will be just the same (perfect or horrendous) or it will be completely opposite (perfect or horrendous). The truth is that few supervisor-employee relationships are that black and white; most are cordial, occasionally irritating, and occasionally joyful. So if you're used to something on one end of the heaven-hell spectrum, make sure your expectations hover somewhere around “respectful.”
• Take gossip with a grain of salt. Sometimes a boss' reputation precedes her, and what's being said isn't pleasant. If you can't find anyone with a kind word to say about her, you may be in for a bumpy road. But if some people think she's great and others think she's an ogre, there's no need to panic. Realize that some personalities just don't mesh and some employees aren't the fantastic workers they think they are (and, hence, can get on the wrong side of a boss). The differing viewpoints are likely the result of inter-personal conflicts rather than proof that your new boss is awful.
• Do listen to talk about his work habits. Asking peers about your new boss' personality and quirks is fine, but asking about his work habits and what he considers important will go a long way toward preparing you to make a good first impression. If you learn that he's a stickler for punctuality, for example, you can make absolutely certain you're always on time or early for meetings.
• Don't show him the ropes unless asked. It may be tempting to try to show your new boss how things are done—either as a sincere gesture of kindness or as a power play—but it's not a good idea unless you're specifically asked to do so. Why? Your boss may already feel one step behind everyone else in the department, and, coupled with a supervisor's desire to lead, it could rub him the wrong way. Offer to help in any way you can, but don't overstep your boundaries.
• Give her a break. You know your job, so you're probably motoring along like usual. But your new boss is walking into a completely different situation, and whether she shows it or not, she's nervous. If she seems distant or hard to get to know, cut her some slack for the first few weeks. She's likely knee-deep in a learning curve, and this may not be an accurate reflection of her personality or management style. Reserve judgment until she's established in her new role.