Starting a new job and going into an organization is hard. Doing so as a leader adds a level of complexity. You will have the same challenges of getting to know a new set of people, a new company with their own processes and procedures, and figuring out where to start with your new job. But you will also have those around you, and reporting to you, who will wonder what you are going to want to change. Are you going to let them continue as they were? Are you going to “blow everything up?”
For many people, one of the questions that comes up during the interview process (or should, I think) is a question from the applicant to the hiring team about what the biggest challenges are inside the organization today. This helps set the stage for where they’re going to expect you to make impact, and helps you identify if there is a problem area before you even walk in the door. You can listen to the word choices used (we’ll get more into word choices in another article), and determine how your skills can help to make a difference. Even if you do not ask this question during the hiring process, it is an area you should look for, and discuss, as early on as possible.
The Introduction Phase – The Setup
One of my first steps, after the general introductions with bosses and key personnel, is to do some evaluation of the teams and locations I’m going to be involved with. I try to get on-site (if realistic to do so), and I conduct a series of meetings with my team members and other key people that are likely to be success factors for my organization. These sessions help me understand who people are, what they do, what do they like about what they do, and the pain points (as they see them).
While my primary concern is around my direct reports, I try to make this a broad spectrum approach. In addition, I try to find the resident subject experts, and get their thoughts. I connect with support teams: my “go to” people in IT (or systems providers), HR, Facilities, etc. And I frequently also try to meet with key clients, vendors, and other departments who rely on my org. They may not be very first on my list, but it is critical to get opinions from a diverse group.
General Observations
You can learn a fair amount about organizations by paying close attention to the surroundings and general office life. This is more challenging as companies have embraced remote cultures with a work-from-home environment, but you can still glean some information during the course of meetings and discussions.
- When I get on-site, what is the atmosphere of the office? Is it bright and open? Closed in and quiet? Are people congregating in different areas and chatting, or are they all in their own spaces? Are there personal knick-knacks around, or is everything more generic?
- How does (or will) this atmosphere help support the things I care about?
- Does the environment embrace the vision and values of the company?
- Is there something in the setup of the office that is detrimental to the work the team needs to complete?
- Is there anything about the space that may pose a future concern? Ability to grow, physical location to recruit talent, security or other concerns?
- I watch how teams interact. I try to listen in or observe “a day in the life.”
- Are people looking too stressed and harried to have me around?
- Are they fearful or embracing of a new person?
- What culture and values do I see the teams showing in their day-to-day interactions?
The Meetings – Getting to Know the Org
You can only learn so much through observation. To really understand where things are at and find your starting point, you need to meet and talk with people. Different leaders have different approaches depending on their personalities and leadership style. For me, I try to have the very first meeting feel informal and designed to set people at ease. However, “informal” does not mean “unplanned” and I generally have a flow that I follow.
During this first meeting, I very intentionally do not have a printed list of questions, and I don’t have my laptop in front of me. I typically have a blank pad/piece of paper and a pen, so I can jot down quick notes to myself. I want everyone to feel that this is a free form conversation. There are questions and topics I will have planned in my mind, but I’ve also had these meetings go into unexpected territory! So be flexible, and try to keep it as a natural conversation.
- The Introduction to Me – what’s my background, my beliefs and values, what are the things that give me passion and drive. For me personally, that usually covers very briefly my career history (setting credibility), sharing that my passions are in team growth and development, and my personal beliefs around letting go of perfectionism and trying to do just a little better each day, plus something a little personal – maybe I’ll talk about a personality quirk, or how I’ve been lucky enough to be able to travel, etc.
- All About Them – From here I ask them about themselves. What do they do, tell me about their piece of the business, and what makes them happy in their jobs? I use open-ended questions, and I try to write down relatively little to keep the informal atmosphere. After all, they are not interviewing! This is about listening closely and getting to know them. But I do make notes on key points and things that I’m worried I’ll forget later. Pay attention to where they steer the conversation! Many will keep a lot of the conversation about work, but listen to how they talk and the word choices. What kind of personal values and motivations are they displaying? Are they optimistic or pessimistic? Task oriented or strategy? What is their general demeanor?
- What Would They Like to Change – I ask every person what they would change if I could wave a magic wand and fix that thing that instant. Sometimes I ask for one thing to hear the biggest priority, but frequently I ask for three. “Pretend this pen is a magic wand and I could instantly fix three things for you. What would you have me change?” Regardless of what I’ve written down (or not) so far in the conversation, I make a point to write down the answers to this question. Do not make promises today to fix these things (you don’t want to make a promise you might not be able to keep). But the answer to this question helps connect you to the challenges inside the org and personal perceptions around issues.
- Pay special attention if you start to hear recurring themes among multiple people!
- And then of course, open the door for any questions they want to ask. The questions posed by your team (or the lack of questions) can sometimes tell you nearly as much as whatever answers they gave you previously. You may find questions steeped in curiosity. Some people may display a high level of comfort and excitement. Or you may find less desirable attitudes, such as fear or even low-level challenge. Be certain to listen for the change agents. Those are the people who can help be your advocates!
Evaluating and Determining Next Steps
After each meeting, I set aside time to think about the person I just met and what they told me. What kind of word choices did the person use? Are they fearful of change? Are they excited about how things are going? I also think about whether I am hearing recurring themes. Are people routinely talking about culture, process, people issues? What types of items came up in the list of desired fixes? Also, did I hear something alarming that needs to be addressed immediately? Don’t dismiss this! I’ve had it happen. An introduction discussion that immediately led to a follow up meeting, a call to my boss, and a detailed update to another department! Some things are too important to delay.
Now that I’m armed with my observational data, I look at what I believe is working or not working.
- How are the teams’ values aligned? When there is a divergence, is it a difference of core values, or a healthy dissenting voice that gives roundness to the group opinions?
- Where am I seeing dissatisfaction with culture or a process or hiring issues?
- Looking at the things they want to change, how many of them are realistic to do, and could any of them be done quickly? Do any of the changes the team is requesting align with the general direction of the company and my notions of how I want my teams to function?
- How do the comments from the teams in my org align (or not) with what I hear from other groups in the company? Are they consistent? Is there differing opinion on “why” something is happening?
You’ll want to marry this information to any hard data you can obtain. Are there KPIs and reports you can review? Feedback from clients / customers?
The Outcome
This then sets me up to talk about what I want to focus on most in my first 90 days of the job.
As an example:
Maybe the executive team is worried about KPIs, but I find that one of our issues is one of culture. Everyone wants to be the smartest person in the room, so nobody is listening to anyone else to fix a key problem. Maybe the “magic wand problem” I keep hearing is that people feel too excluded from the problem solving process. New processes are implemented without consideration of new problems that will be introduced.
You’ll want to look at ways that you can leverage tactics that address different issues at once.
For the scenario above, I may bring in different team members to a brainstorming review on how to improve one of our KPI metrics and make a point to solicit feedback points from all people. Early in the meeting I may deliberately state that I need help from a variety of people to solve our problem – as this will help to demonstrate the belief that I am not the most important person in the room.
In the course of holding one meeting, I can illustrate my commitment to several things at once: I care for an issue raised by the company during my hire, I follow and demonstrate my beliefs to my team, and I show team members that I take their feedback seriously.
Meeting a new team can be intimidating! And it takes a little practice to build the observation skills that help you evaluate an organization. But if you utilize some of the items I noted above, it can give you a hand towards starting your new role on the right foot.
