Help! I've never met my team!
OK be honest, who actually had a virtual coffee or happy hour before COVID? Not me! The pandemic was a period of great learning and transition, personally and professionally for so many. A lot of us who started new jobs and businesses did so without meeting our colleagues, clients, or leadership teams in person. Here are a few tips to help you when you’re making a job transition, on the screen or IRL!
Commit to “over connecting” So much of our time connecting was over coffee, lunch and the water cooler and for many of us, those in-person opportunities are gone. It’s on you to make the effort to reach out for virtual connecting/happy hours/coffees and lunches. If you’re starting remotely in a new company, especially a large one, some people may not even know you exist, so be intentional about introducing yourself. Create some time (even just 5-10 minutes) after meetings for personal chit-chat to get to know people.
Think globally: The silver lining of working on video conference is the opportunity to connect with people in other regions and countries in a more meaningful way. One of our biggest learning opportunities as leaders is understanding business and culture in other parts of the world. The normalization of video conference can offer all sorts of new global opportunities for you and your business. As an executive coach, only a couple of my clients live in the same city as me, and quite a few live outside the U.S. I’m not sure this would have been the case before COVID.
Be present: Now more than ever, being an active listener is so important. Schedule connection calls and meetings during times where you’ll have fewer interruptions. Put your phone on mute and flip it over. This is even more important now with the myriad of distractions happening around the screen. Try to make eye contact – I still don’t know if I should look at the person’s eyes or look at the green dot on my screen, but you can always ask the person you’re talking to about angles!
Ask for help: It’s hard to ask for help when starting a new role, even when we started new jobs in person. Many companies have resources to support remote workers. Chief Wellness Officer positions are popping up as companies know how important mental and physical health. And I’d be remiss not to insert my shameless plug here – get a coach! I always recommend a mentor inside the company and outside. An internal mentor can help you navigate the internal politics and someone with no skin in the game can help you focus on your personal goals and success.
Last but not least, celebrate your new opportunity!
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1 年Our company never lets us meet our team members even online, zoom, skype, etc. We have never spoken to each other. How can you have a team when you have never spoken to your team members, don't know what they are doing, and can't possibly trust them? Yet, our company uses the 'teamwork' trope as psychology to make us feel we have invested in a 'team' and to push each of us to work harder. This also ensures that we'll never have the possibility of organizational strength for our rights and protections. It's insulting.
Agree with others on setting up individual meetings with your team, peers, cross functional partners etc.. I would offer though to not under estimate how difficult that can be even early on in joining. Most companies now are in aggressive phases of scale, catching up from the downturn, and wide spread change across the board, While you want (and must) build those relationships quickly, you're also trying to learn the culture of your new company, the style of your leader(s), what new responsibilities you own now and what state those areas are in. Therefore, make it one of the first things you schedule in before the calendar quickly starts to fill up and add in skip levels when you can, it's not just about your direct reports only. Finally, to add something a little different, learning the culture is really hard with everyone being remote. Coming recently from a successful startup founded on an amazing culture, I've learned so much about why having a common alignment of your company culture is vital to your team's success. When you don't have the physical environment to see the nuances of daily interactions between people and teams, you have to apply thoughtful focus on this and really invest the time to get it right.
Accomplished, results-oriented CMO with nearly 25 years experience in financial services and technology.
3 年Love this Jen Adams CLC, CSC. My adds are (1) don’t let people say “I don’t want to add too many meetings to your calendar”. Early on, add as many as possible, all over the company. The hardest part for me has been getting integrated and knowing more than just my day to day colleagues. (2) schedule 25 and 50 minute meetings instead of 30 and 60 minutes - sometimes a 5-10 minute break is all you need to refill the water bottle, open the door to the sunshine, or check in with your teenagers! And (3) stay connected with your network to get advice and external inspiration - keep those new ideas at the forefront to add value early on.
AVP Strategic Pricing and Revenue Analysis
3 年Great post, Jen! Investing in extra time blocks with your new team members and your new internal business stakeholders is helpful. Cameras on with 100% attention/engagement is critical also!
Communications Guru | Partner for business leaders to drive results | Mom, Tar Heel, Traveler, Word Nerd
3 年I put time on the calendar of all of the important people my boss said I should meet. I made sure to ask about them personally and their history. Also, when they gave me names of people that would be helpful, and then set up time with them. My boss told me I’m going to know more people than she is soon. But it helps me be established as a resource and someone who is invested. It’s also helped me pick things up much more quickly.?