The First Thing to Do When You Have a New Boss
Getting a new boss can be tricky. The person who trained you has most likely left, and someone with limited knowledge of your company, team, and job will be in charge of your day-to-day work life. But before you update your resume and start looking for a new job , consider these approaches to a new relationship.
Schedule an introductory meeting
You don’t want to look brown-nosed, but take the initiative and schedule a quick one-on-one with the new boss. Ideally, they’ll start reaching out to your team ahead of time to schedule these meetings themselves, but if they don’t, you should take the initiative and ask for time on their calendar.
One Redditor suggested talking to a new person about your expectations and responsibilities beforehand. Don’t go defensively, even if you expect to be dealing with someone whose style is different from what you’re used to. Try not to report it if you are unhappy with the change; hostility will get you nowhere with a new leader.
Get ready for the first impression
Dig up your job description. If you don’t have it on hand, ask Human Resources for a copy of your duties. You should also have a list of your accomplishments and successes handy to share with them so they can see that you are getting results, you are doing a good job and you should (hopefully) just leave them alone so they can keep going. what you excel at while they think. his new role. But don’t go there just to talk about yourself. You need to know who this new leader is, so come up with questions ahead of time.
“Basically, you want to be able to put together five to seven questions to help the new boss transition,” advised Tim Sackett of HRUTech , author of Fixing Talent: An Executive Guide to Hiring Outstanding Talent. “How do you like to be talked to? What should they know that you would like to know when you started working in this team, in the company? How will we measure success?
He added that asking sincere questions and setting expectations can “open up great conversations early on.” “We have this rare window of opportunity early on where we can all be open and honest about this new relationship.” He warned that often new bosses and their subordinates “do not take advantage of these dynamics,” which is a missed opportunity when it comes to building productive relationships.
Prevent Toxic Relationships Before They Happen
You may miss your old boss and be frustrated with how the new person manages your team, but do your best to keep the new relationship as positive as possible.
“It’s very important to establish positive, rewarding relationships early on,” Sackett said. Use your existing experience and understanding of the workplace to your advantage, be firm about things you know well in your role, but don’t be rude or difficult. Give the new boss time to get used to his role.
“New bosses want to know who on their team will help them succeed. You want to position yourself as one of those people, regardless of your long-term goals for that company or role,” Sackett added.
Instead of starting with caution or disdain, invite the new person to show you the basics of the company or team. State in advance your experience and willingness to work together to achieve goals in the workplace so that you don’t get caught in the middle and get stuck in a difficult interpersonal situation . If after a few months you really think you can’t work with this person, start planning for leaving, especially if you think you’ll end up getting fired.