Hi. My name is x+y - (a-w)/z

Consultants: ever asked yourself, what's the point of a professional introduction? From what I've gathered by listening to many, it's not obvious. Sure, the why of an intro is like the who, when and where - it depends.

And there are many reasons besides professional reasons that one introduces themselves to a new team or to a new colleague. Most are valid, but in my experience one reason is more helpful than the others.

Let me offer this pedestrian view: you introduce yourself in the workplace to begin a working relationship, one which will depend on trust - like all relationships do.

You're building trust, and focused on that from the first sentence. I'm talking about the trust that comes from shared interest, as much as expressions of competence. If you can agree with me on that, then let's play this out further.

The next question after why is how. How should you introduce yourself to a new person, in a professional setting? That depends, of course! But, you definitely should -

• Characterize yourself in their terms – don't use internal titles or rank that may not have any meaning in their circles. Instead, use non-jargony industry terms. Their industry terms. Saying you're a Sr. Consultant or Principal Group Manager or any number of idiosyncratic titles would be less clear to them and therefore less helpful than, say, "Sr. Engineer" or "Director" or even "Team Lead."
• Select experiences from your background that are relevant to them. Make some assumptions if you have to about their future needs or interests. Go ahead, skip unrelated experiences and instead establish why you are in the room for them. Or why you might be in the future. Leave out anything that's more than a couple years old, and anything unrelated to them - unless you're trying to expand the conversation in that direction (or to test their interests). For your introduction, you don't want to 'bury the lead' among a smattering of words. The "lead", in this case, is the collection of skills and experiences that you have that they value. And - only - the ones they value.

If you're a critical thinker, you should be asking 'what do I get if I do that all that?' And that's a great question! You would

• Establish your brand. You're jumpstarting a productive and rewarding relationship by building a map between your 'X' skills & 'Y' experiences to their needs. Make it so they will know that you're the person to turn to should they need 'X' or 'Y'. Establishing your brand, as trite as that may seem, serves you but - more importantly - it serves them. Yes, you're providing a service here, by helping them to leverage you to the fullest.

Couple examples to draw out the value of this -

E.g. #1 of an intro to an Operations team who need someone to tune ... operations

Hi, I am a Principal Defense Consultant with Z Company. I've been with Z for a week now and am still learning about all these things over here. It's been really great getting started, everyone is so nice. Before Z, I worked all across the world having been in charge of everything from sales to spreadsheets for customers in every industry. I am pleased to meet you.

?

How do you think a team might feel about counting on such an individual for advice on tuning Operations? Like the person is a master of everything and of nothing? Like they might be slow to respond, since they probably don't know their own email address yet? Read on.

?

E.g. #2 - introducing yourself to a project team focused on deploying 'X' tools, though you haven't had much experience with it:

Hi, I'm an Engineer in the 'X' team at Z. I've been helping teams like yours adopt tools of all kinds with seamless user experiences. While I've depth of skill in 'A' and 'B', I thoroughly enjoyed the 2 projects I've supported where I helped teams realize the benefits of 'X' without disrupting 'Y'. I'm strong in documentation, and in getting complicated engineering onto paper. But my favorite part is usually where I'm mentoring teammates on the new sides of technologies like 'X' and 'Y'; I especially enjoy the role of coach and helping everyone achieve more in the 'X' profession.

I'll be serving as an 'X' engineer and mentor. Thank you for having me here, I'm looking forward to working with you!

?

E.g. #3 - introducing yourself to a 'Y' project where your most recent focus has been in the 'X' domain

Hi, I'm a specialist with Z Company, and I'll be serving as your 'Y' Architect. I've been working in a similar field for around 5 years and have helped deliver 'Y' projects like this many times. I've focused recently on the aspects of 'X' that involve 'Y', having gotten the 'Y' certification from Microsoft, to go with the other certifications I have.

Thank you for having me here, I'm looking forward to working with you!

Better, right? Here's some additional guidance from the above.

• Your personal level or role at "Z Company" only matters if it means you can do more for them because of it, and they understand that. What's more important than level, usually, is your role on their team. "I'm a Sr. Managing Executive" is less helpful than "I'm the executive sponsor, and ensure that everyone has an open channel for feedback on this team. Tell me when you need something and if Z has it, I'll get it for you."
• Don't be afraid to use the industry standards instead of your own title. If your new team has analysts on it, and you're an analyst - then quip your title and move on. If they don't, then they might not know you're a 'specialist' in 'X' and maybe you should say that instead (or in addition to).
• And how long you've been at Z Company doesn't usually matter, and may add confusion. Long-timers can be prejudiced as 'dead wood' and sometimes assumed to be unresponsive. But tenure is especially risky if you're a short timer. Newbies are just treated differently. And almost never for the reasons that matter. I mean, who cares if you don't have the corp. travel policy memorized at "Z Company" yet - you've likely been doing great things before you got to Company Z (even if it was just classes at the University of Hard Knocks).
• What does matter is how long you've been in the industry, trade or similar roles where you developed knowledge & instincts that will benefit them. A new hire shouldn't say "I just joined Z Company as a Sr. Analyst", they should say "I'm a Sr. Analyst and your dedicated specialist for 'X' and 'Y'. I will be leveraging 2 years of experience in 'X' and 3 years in 'Y' where I've done just this sort of work for teams like this." Booya.
• To be painfully clear: never say "I just started." Almost never. Not in the introduction. If you do, you're almost certainly selling yourself short and obfuscating your value to the new team. Instead, you should share the time you've been doing similar work. You can fess-up your newbie status later. You have all the time in the world to bring that up, when it's relevant or even when it's just fun to talk about. But during your intro, "I just started" works against your brand, your purpose and the potential benefits of the relationships you're working to create.?
• Don't equivocate or disclaim. Goes without saying, never lie. But - reducing your potential impact during your intro is the same sort of thing as saying, "I'm new here". Don't. Don't say things like "I'm still learning" or "I just started" or "I'm not as good as Fred over there." You are very clearly telling them to "expect mediocre or less results from me." This is not the time to share your inner imposture syndrome. Manage your risk and fears later. Make only positive, clear assertions about how you can help.?Focus on clarifying the positive role you'll play in their lives. Managing yours and other expectations comes later, if/when you're lucky enough to be asked to do a task. Again, goes without saying, never lie but don't equivocate either.
• Though the examples above don't include personal bits, those are absolutely appropriate & germane to developing work relationships. Select aspects of your personal life to share that will accelerate trust - shared interests and expressions of competence. Talking about things you have in common with the team is always a good way to start a relationship. Larger group meetings may not feel conducive for personal stories, though including where you live and what you've in common with their team is always constructive.?
• Beforehand, when you expect to meet new people, take 1-2 minutes before to think through how you'll introduce yourself. Especially if you tend to equivocate or ramble in ad hoc situations. And if you can, ask to introduce yourself last - so you can find common ground from their introductions before you do yours.
• Last - while listening to others introduce themselves, ask some follow-up questions if you have them and if you think it'll help build trust. Yes, introductions can be interactive!

I leave you with history's most perfect introduction, the one that meets all the guidance here and everywhere - and wish you all the best!

?