I have a new team to manage. What now?You may have received a promotion that includes leadership responsibilities. Or maybe you just changed jobs, and you’ve started working with a new team.

It can be both challenging and exciting at the same time!

You may gain a fresh start, new relationships, a better salary, and you might even have the opportunity to create something amazing for the company when you lead a new team.

Obviously, not everything is easy. You may encounter the following challenges:

• Probably the most challenging aspect is building trust. It’s hard to be trusted right away by the people you manage when you will responsible for defining salaries, roles, promotions, and team dynamics. Will you be fair? Will you have favorites? Does your style match the style of each individual?
• Team dynamic: Are you familiar with the culture of this new team if it already existed, at least partially? How will you fit in? The process of integrating yourself can be challenging
• Resistance: some team members may be skeptical of the new leadership. Perhaps they are simply resistant to change.

To get your new team off to a good start, you can do some things. The following are some examples or ideas you may find helpful:

• Get to know your team: Show you are interested in getting to know them. This is critical to create long standing trust. It is important to understand the motivations, fears, strengths, and weaknesses of each individual. Get to know their personal stories as well. As a result, you will be able to better define roles and build a cohesive team
• Let people know about you: how you work, what are your strengths, and where you are working to improve. As a leader, show yourself to be vulnerable and always on the lookout for ways to improve
• Open communication: Team members should be encouraged to communicate openly. It is likely that they will have a lot of questions about the team and about you. During the first few months after creating the team, communicate even more often
• Establish team rules: Dates, processes, deliverables. What to do if a due date is not met. What is the best way to manage priorities. By doing so, team members will have a clear understanding of what is expected of them
• Set clear goals for the team: Everyone wants to know what success looks like. By setting this early and clearly, the team will be able to start moving towards success much more quickly
• Recognize and provide feedback: Everyone likes to be recognized for their efforts. When something does not work, providing feedback is a gift that gives that person a chance to be successful in the future. Team members will be motivated and morale will be boosted.
• Be adaptable: Your leadership style may need to be adapted. A strategy that worked in the past might not work with a new team

Lastly, a team is made up of people. The norm is change and evolution. You will need to evaluate and adapt frequently since nothing is set in stone. There may be new members, a change in the company’s strategy, or personal situations that compromise the balance and put pressure on the leader.

At Power Inside Out www.powerinsideout.com we help leaders to build a cohesive and motivated team. For years, we have done so at companies such as Microsoft, Intel, Monsanto, and Amazon. Connect with us if you are building a new team and would like help or guidance!