Joining a new team is exciting for the opportunities it brings, but it can also be nerve-wracking trying to learn the group dynamic so you don’t make any mistakes.

That potential for stress increases exponentially when you are the team’s new leader.

As the team’s new leader you walk a tightrope between learning what needs to change and what is functioning well. Sometimes your outside perspective can be the clarity for getting everything back on track.

An article for Forbes recently explored this topic and offered these three tips (plus a few more) to successfully joining and leading a new team.

Gather Information

Despite whatever big goals you were assigned to meet when you were selected as the new leader, the fact is you don’t know how this team operates yet.

The first thing you need to do is observe.

Sit in on what the team has been working on and see how they function so you can assess what everyone does and how they have been doing.

Keep What Works

If you come in and just toss all the old routines you risk making things even worse. While you undoubtedly want to start getting hands-on, make sure you are aware of what the team is doing that should be kept.

They no doubt have reasons for why they have developed certain patterns, so learn what those are before you discard anything.

Brace for Resistance

Once you start implementing changes not everyone is going to be happy with them right away. As the newcomer who is upsetting the status quo, you may be looked at with some distrust initially.

While that is not fun, it also is not unusual. Help assuage concerns by explaining your rationale behind changes. Keep people informed to start earning their trust that you have the best interests of the team at heart.

For further points of consideration, refer to the article published in Forbes here.

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