29 min
How to Build Good Relationships in a New Job (Issue #373) Invincible Career - Claim your power and regain your freedom
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- Careers
One of the happiest moments when I coach people is the day they accept a great job offer. They're so relieved to put the stress of the job search and endless interviews behind them. They're looking forward to starting something new.
However, that relief is soon replaced with a little bit of anxiety. They know they need to hit the ground running with their new employer. They want to make a good impression in that critical first 90 days.
One of the essential tasks in those first few weeks is meeting people and starting to build relationships. No one works alone. I don't care how great you are at what you do — if you work in a company with a team, your success depends on those relationships.
Some of your goals should be:
* Starting things off on the right foot with colleagues.
* Learning the organizational structure.
* Discovering the underlying team dynamics and power structure (which is often quite different from the formal org structure).
* Understanding how things get done at the company.
* Identifying the pitfalls and gotchas that can sabotage a new employee's career at the company.
* Finding out what has been working well and what's not working so well in the organization.
* Getting to know people, who they are, what they do, what they want to accomplish, and what makes them tick.
* Finding out how you can add value and improve things.
There really is no better way to tackle these goals than to meet with people one-on-one, whether in person or over Zoom. It’s more difficult — and it will take longer — to build good relationships in group meetings, via Slack chats, or during your everyday project work.
I’m a hardcore introvert, so I understand if some of you are reluctant to schedule many one-on-one meetings. But, it really is the best way to establish a connection and build rapport with people quickly.
Invincible Career® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Don't worry about being an imposition
Yes, I know that accomplishing those goals does sound like a lot of meetings. Some folks get a bit stressed about this and feel like they're imposing on people. They know that everyone is busy with their work, and they're concerned they’ll annoy colleagues with meeting requests.
But, don't worry about it!
People know that a new employee is in "learning mode" and trying to absorb as much institutional knowledge as possible. They expect to hear from you. In fact, if someone doesn't hear from you, they worry they are somehow not seen as possessing useful knowledge and information (e.g., "Why doesn't the new person/leader want to meet me?").
The secret to making these meetings valuable is to ensure they aren't a one-way street. You aren't just meeting people for your personal benefit. You should also ask questions and find out what your colleagues need most.
How can you help? How can you make their lives better?
New leaders, in particular, can authentically reach out and meet with people across the organization with a genuine interest in learning and getting input on how to improve things moving forward. There are always issues and problems. Always.
Sometimes people feel like the previous leader didn't listen to them (or care). Sometimes they feel like the current leadership doesn't understand them and their needs.
You can change all of that.
Of course, being a force for good change isn't just a leader's job. No matter your role with your new employer, you can become a champion for positive transformation in the organization.
Some questions to ask
Here are some questions that can help guide your conversations:
* How do our teams currently work together?
* What is the process here for doing XYZ?
* What has been working well?
* What are you most proud of accomplishing here?
* What does success look like here?
* What is not going so well?
* What needs to change?
* How do you think we could improve things?
* How do you think we cou
One of the happiest moments when I coach people is the day they accept a great job offer. They're so relieved to put the stress of the job search and endless interviews behind them. They're looking forward to starting something new.
However, that relief is soon replaced with a little bit of anxiety. They know they need to hit the ground running with their new employer. They want to make a good impression in that critical first 90 days.
One of the essential tasks in those first few weeks is meeting people and starting to build relationships. No one works alone. I don't care how great you are at what you do — if you work in a company with a team, your success depends on those relationships.
Some of your goals should be:
* Starting things off on the right foot with colleagues.
* Learning the organizational structure.
* Discovering the underlying team dynamics and power structure (which is often quite different from the formal org structure).
* Understanding how things get done at the company.
* Identifying the pitfalls and gotchas that can sabotage a new employee's career at the company.
* Finding out what has been working well and what's not working so well in the organization.
* Getting to know people, who they are, what they do, what they want to accomplish, and what makes them tick.
* Finding out how you can add value and improve things.
There really is no better way to tackle these goals than to meet with people one-on-one, whether in person or over Zoom. It’s more difficult — and it will take longer — to build good relationships in group meetings, via Slack chats, or during your everyday project work.
I’m a hardcore introvert, so I understand if some of you are reluctant to schedule many one-on-one meetings. But, it really is the best way to establish a connection and build rapport with people quickly.
Invincible Career® is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Don't worry about being an imposition
Yes, I know that accomplishing those goals does sound like a lot of meetings. Some folks get a bit stressed about this and feel like they're imposing on people. They know that everyone is busy with their work, and they're concerned they’ll annoy colleagues with meeting requests.
But, don't worry about it!
People know that a new employee is in "learning mode" and trying to absorb as much institutional knowledge as possible. They expect to hear from you. In fact, if someone doesn't hear from you, they worry they are somehow not seen as possessing useful knowledge and information (e.g., "Why doesn't the new person/leader want to meet me?").
The secret to making these meetings valuable is to ensure they aren't a one-way street. You aren't just meeting people for your personal benefit. You should also ask questions and find out what your colleagues need most.
How can you help? How can you make their lives better?
New leaders, in particular, can authentically reach out and meet with people across the organization with a genuine interest in learning and getting input on how to improve things moving forward. There are always issues and problems. Always.
Sometimes people feel like the previous leader didn't listen to them (or care). Sometimes they feel like the current leadership doesn't understand them and their needs.
You can change all of that.
Of course, being a force for good change isn't just a leader's job. No matter your role with your new employer, you can become a champion for positive transformation in the organization.
Some questions to ask
Here are some questions that can help guide your conversations:
* How do our teams currently work together?
* What is the process here for doing XYZ?
* What has been working well?
* What are you most proud of accomplishing here?
* What does success look like here?
* What is not going so well?
* What needs to change?
* How do you think we could improve things?
* How do you think we cou
29 min