Welcome to issue #16 of Pondering Leadership: A Deliberate and Thoughtful, Yet Informal Look at Leading and Managing. Welcome to my new subscribers! We are happy to have you. If there is anything you want me to write about, let me know. Last week, I used this space to offer interview questions for hiring managers to ask candidates that focus more on positive situations than asking a candidate to explain their weaknesses. I have written several issues from the manager’s perspective about hiring people. This week, I am going to turn the tables. What happens when you are the new hire? Let’s talk about how an incoming manager should approach their new staff.
Whenever a new manager comes in, the staff always worries about what kind of manager they are getting. Often, staff members are in on interviews, which might give them some say in the hiring decision. But, many times, staff are not involved in interviewing their future boss. Either way, staff will be a bit anxious about how their work lives might change with a new manager.
I try to meet everyone as soon as I can even while I am filling out the forms with HR, getting any necessary training and meeting other management staff and organization leadership. Be open and friendly. Look everyone in the eye and tell them it is nice to meet them. I am not sure if we are shaking hands anymore since we are still feeling the effects of a pandemic. The first few days are pretty hectic, but I try to meet as many of my staff as soon as possible. Then, I set up one on ones with everyone.
One on Ones
I schedule official meetings using the meeting tool in our email client for 15-20 minutes in my office. Meeting in my office gets everyone used to people being in my office with the door closed without thinking it is always bad news. In the meeting requests, I say that I just want to get to know everyone a little bit. I also mention that I am not preparing anything for the meeting, so they do not need to prepare anything, either. I ask three questions to kick off our conversations.
What do you like about your job? There is no wrong answer. The answers will tell you how engaged everyone is. Level of engagement can be determined by many things, including a previous bad manager. So, even if some people do not feel as into their jobs as we would like, this is an opportunity for a new manager to provide a good workplace and bring up the morale if necessary. (Morale is a big topic for another day.) Hopefully, ideally, most people will be fairly interested in their jobs and you can work with them to keep them engaged.
What do you want to learn? These answers will give you an idea of the skill level of each of your staff members. You will be able to determine who your strong performers are by what they want to learn next. Some of us are lifelong learners who are curious and always want to keep our skills up. This is a good time to show your experience and connections. You will be aware of training and professional development opportunities that you can suggest. By asking this question you will also find out who is just there for the paycheck, not that there is anything wrong with that. Some people just want to do their job and go home, which is fine, depending on their job. Everyone needs to keep their skills up whether they want to or not. But, some lower level routine roles are often filled with students or retirees. Neither of these groups are looking for career advancement. When one of my friends retired, she looked for a low-ish stress part-time job to get out of the house and make a little extra money. She took a part-time job shelving books in a public library three hours a day. It worked out great until a new director came in who required everyone to come up with three goals for the next year. Managers had to have regular meetings with their staff to check the progress of those goals. My friend’s goals were to shelve books for three hours and go home. Sometimes, a job is just a job. And, that’s ok. But, most positions in our organizations are more robust. Our goals, skills and intentions need to reflect that.
What can we do better? This question is also good to find out how engaged your staff is. Some people give more high-level answers, while some are more specific. “Can we move this cabinet to the other side of the room?” Some people will rattle off ten things that could improve service. That’s great! That means they are paying attention and want to provide great service. These answers will give you many opportunities to show up for your staff. Make as many changes as you can based on their ideas. This will build trust with your staff. You are showing that you are listening and you value their input. This will take you far with your staff.
I do not take notes unless there is something I need to follow up on. In one of my one on ones, one of my employees told me she is part of a local group serving a particular underserved population. I know someone leading a larger group serving that population, so I texted her for more info and passed that on to my employee during the meeting. Use your network to add value to your employees’ professional development.
Staff will be nervous about these meetings until a few people have had them. Then, it will get around that the meetings are not so bad. These questions might seem like ‘be careful what you wish for’ type questions, but I have only gotten great info from these conversations. Having one on ones is a great jumping off point in a new manager role.
Listen
Sometimes, our first instinct when starting a manager role in a new organization is to impress everyone with our experiences in how we have handled situations in our previous jobs. There are certainly appropriate times to insert that information. I have found listening is the best way to gather information. People want to be heard. I have found out a lot about a lot of things by just listening to my staff. They bring me a concern or problem, but instead of answering, I let them talk and they often work it out.
Your Turn
These are just a few ideas to think about when you take over a team in a new job. Let me know what you think! What are some ways you have been successful in starting a new role and getting to know your staff? You can comment in Discussion.
Thank you for reading issue #16 of Pondering Leadership. I hope to see you next Thursday afternoon for issue #17 where I will write about communicating with staff, including having difficult discussions.
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