Reflections on joining a new team
In the spirit of transparency and candour, the service transformation team publishes reflections on the what and why for the team.
Post by Lindsay Macfarlane, Sr. Product Manager for the CleanBC Digital Experience team (and new Service Transformation Branch member!)
New teams bring excitement and trepidation
Joining a new team can be fun, exhilarating, and daunting — all at the same time. There’s the excitement of meeting new people who are leading amazing work, the thrill of boundless opportunities ahead for yourself and your team, and the anticipation of getting to contribute towards something meaningful. On the other hand, there’s the daunting task of coming up to speed on complex topics or ideas, the intimidating and messy aspects of change, and the fear of coming off as an imposter. It’s natural to feel many emotions — we are complex humans who can experience the highs and lows in a single breath.
In the past 8 months (or so), I’ve had the opportunity to move between several roles and teams and have experienced all the excitement and trepidation that joining a new team or organization brings. Change is hard, but there are ways to make the transition to a new team as smooth as possible. Below are some of my reflections and lessons learned.
Building relationships
Whenever joining a new team, building and fostering relationships is one of the first key steps. Understanding who your team is, how they work (and like to work), how they communicate, and what challenges they’ve faced and opportunities they see for the future is critical. However, building these relationships goes beyond your core team — it also includes the key stakeholders, partners and supporters who surround and contribute to their success. This often takes time and is an on-going process; however, spending the time building these relationships and partnerships will set you and your team up for ongoing success.
Oh, and find a champion. Everyone needs a champion who will help advocate for you and your team — especially at the Executive level. Having someone who will help speak to your work and support your vision is crucial, especially if you don’t always have a seat at the table.
Inheriting a legacy
Often when joining a new team you are inheriting a past legacy, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Whether that is taking on the perfect team (does that even exist?) or complicated governance, or messy (and incoherent) spreadsheets, or strained relationships — building out those key relationships will be critical to help navigate the first few months on any new team. It’s ok not to be the expert and to not have all the answers. It’s okay to take the time to get comfortable in your new role and to rely on your team for input and guidance. There’s no “i” in team — you’re all working towards the same goal and working together (collaboratively) to ensure you are aligned and have a common vision for success.
Fostering change
With any change, there is an element of change management that needs to take place and how you bring that change to your team can have a huge influence on your team’s success. Whether you decide to bring revolutionary or evolutionary change will have a significant impact on your team’s psychological safety and ability to adapt to new ways of thinking or doing work. Take an approach that is right for the team and the situation — there may be times where quick, rapid change is needed and other times where a gradual, methodical change will increase buy-in and support for what you are trying to achieve. Whatever your approach, always be mindful of people’s feelings and emotions — change is tricky and can be hard. For some, change is exciting, while for others it can be overwhelming. Consistent, open and transparent communication will ensure you and your team are working together towards any change — this should be a group effort.
So, what does this all mean? Joining a team is both a lot of work and rewarding. And it takes time. More time than we often give ourselves to be successful. It’s something that constantly needs to be nurtured and refined. However, when all the pieces align and you see your team succeed — it is incredibly fulfilling.
