What New Team Leaders Should Do First

What New Team Leaders Should Do First

To make a success of their new role, the first things a new team leader should do are:

1. Learn the current set-up.
2. Discover the team's goal.
3. Find out what the current plan is.
4. Integrate yourself into the team.
5. Look for ways to improve the current set up.
6. Make it your mission to continually improve upon the current situation.

1. Learn the current setup.

Don't try to impress everyone on your first day. Introduce yourself to other members of the team. Keep your eyes and ears open and take written notes.

Discover the current setup:

• Who is who?
• What do they do?
• What is working well and what is not so successful?

2. Discover the team's goal.

Organisations and teams exist to achieve goals.

Therefore, you must discover the goals of the organisation. What is it trying to achieve and why?

It is vital you learn this information.

Find the most influential people in the organisation and ask them those questions, write down and memorise their answers.

3. Find out what the current plan is.

Every goal needs a plan for its achievement.

You need to know how the organisation or team, currently intends to achieve its goals.

Ask the more senior members of the organisation to gain a detailed understanding of the plans, both strategic long range, and tactical short range.

Draw a sketch of the plan, and try to understand as much as you can.

4. Integrate yourself into the team.

When making acquaintance with the other members of the team, be friendly, inquisitive, and respectful to everyone and don't make waves.

Don't try to be funny.

Take in more information than you give out.

Don't brag about your past accomplishments.

Just integrate yourself into the current setup, with as little fuss and fanfare as possible.

5. Look for ways to improve upon the current set up.

When you feel fully absorbed into the team, then start to think about how you can improve upon the current working methods.

There must be things that you can see are not right, something not working as well as it could be.

Find out how they can be improved.

When you discover a fixable error, or an opportunity to improve the current working practice, put your plan in writing and present it to the team member who can benefit by the improvement.

6. Continually strive to improve upon the current setup.

The world changes by the hour, and what was working well last year, may be less efficient this year.

Never be satisfied with the current setup.

Assume the mantra: "Improvement is always possible."

Continually look for ways to improve upon the current situation.

Train yourself to be a better team-leader manager.

Develop your team to give your their best performance.

If you continually strive to make things better, then your future is assured.

Definition: Continuous improvement

Context: Business management. Genus: principle. Differentia: 1) Ongoing search for small, better ways of working. 2) Uses facts and measures to test each change. 3) Involves every team member in spotting and acting on ideas. 4) Cuts waste and lifts value for users and the firm.

Article Summary

Great new leaders listen first: they study how the team works, learn the shared goal, grasp the plan, earn trust by joining the culture, then guide steady improvements that raise results and prove leadership is service to the team's success.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Did You Know: Key Statistics

About the Author: Chris Farmer

Chris Farmer is the founder of the Corporate Coach Group and has many years' experience in training leaders and managers, in both the public and private sectors, to achieve their organisational goals, especially during tough economic times. He is also well aware of the disciplines and problems associated with running a business.

Over the years, Chris has designed and delivered thousands of training programmes and has coached and motivated many management teams, groups and individuals. His training programmes are both structured and clear, designed to help delegates organise their thinking and, wherever necessary, to improve their techniques and skills.

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