Laying a Foundation: How to Build Relationships as a New Manager of an Existing Team - EXAMPLE ONLY
To successfully build relationships as a new manager, you must listen with the intent to understand rather than to reply, prioritizing regular one-on-one meetings.
Navigating legacy team dynamics requires absolute transparency, consistency in your actions, and a willingness to be honest about limitations.
Don’t make employees guess your management style; clearly communicate expectations, workflows, and changes to reduce friction and employee pushback.
Building strong colleague relationships with peer managers provides crucial support, mentorship, and insight into how the broader company operates.
- Make Time for One-On-One Meetings
- Conduct Team Development Meetings
- Get Leadership Support
- Build Colleague Relationships
- Hold Team-Building Events
- Prioritize Transparency and Consistency
- Implement Your Own Leadership Style
- Don’t Make Employees Guess
- Leverage Technology to Protect Your “Human” Time
- Frequently Asked Questions
Congrats! You’ve landed a new gig leading a team at a great company. Now comes the difficult part: learning how to build relationships as a new manager. Joining a new organization can feel daunting as you’ll face unique challenges – established relationships, past personality conflicts, loyalty to a previous boss – all of which can affect your day-to-day conversations. As you get accustomed to the new company and environment, you’ll also have to build rapport with your new team. Consider this: a PwC survey reveals that 86% of executives believe employee trust is high, when in fact, only 67% of employee report trusting their employer.
You might be overly eager to develop relationships with your team, and that’s okay.
However, the most important thing you can do is speak to every team member individually and just listen with an intent to understand rather than listening with an intent to reply. Let them explain team dynamics, roles and responsibilities, and department history. Use this as an opportunity for them to get acclimated with your leadership style and your commitment to listen first, make changes later. Continue to hold one-on-one meetings (whether that’s weekly or once a month), and let the team know you care about their personal career goals.
Conduct Team Development Meetings to Build Relationships as a New Manager
You might be overly eager to develop relationships with your team, and that’s okay.
However, the most important thing you can do is speak to every team member individually and just listen with an intent to understand rather than listening with an intent to reply. Let them explain team dynamics, roles and responsibilities, and department history. Use this as an opportunity for them to get acclimated with your leadership style and your commitment to listen first, make changes later. Continue to hold one-on-one meetings (whether that’s weekly or once a month), and let the team know you care about their personal career goals.
Especially at the beginning, it’s vital to bring everyone together – not only to witness how the team interacts but to solidify your role as the new head honcho of the team.
Take note of how your new team works together – is there camaraderie and connection? A strong team dynamic is crucial to work success and promotes productivity. Make sure to have a written agenda and allow for individuals to present updates in their area to empower them and gain insight at the same time. You might also consider jazzing up your team meetings by:
Celebrate Core Achievements: Boost morale by publicly highlighting individual milestones and collective team wins.
Change the Scenery: Move meetings off-site occasionally to break up routine and encourage more candid conversation.
Host Learning Roundtables: Establish educational group syncs where team members can swap industry knowledge.
Leverage Insightful Media: Watch a highly relevant TED Talk together to anchor your scheduled meeting agenda.
Laying a Foundation: How to Build Relationships as a New Manager of an Existing Team
You might be overly eager to develop relationships with your team, and that’s okay.
However, the most important thing you can do is speak to every team member individually and just listen with an intent to understand rather than listening with an intent to reply. Let them explain team dynamics, roles and responsibilities, and department history. Use this as an opportunity for them to get acclimated with your leadership style and your commitment to listen first, make changes later. Continue to hold one-on-one meetings (whether that’s weekly or once a month), and let the team know you care about their personal career goals.
Conduct Team Development Meetings to Build Relationships as a New Manager
Especially at the beginning, it’s vital to bring everyone together – not only to witness how the team interacts but to solidify your role as the new head honcho of the team.
Take note of how your new team works together – is there camaraderie and connection? A strong team dynamic is crucial to work success and promotes productivity. Make sure to have a written agenda and allow for individuals to present updates in their area to empower them and gain insight at the same time. You might also consider jazzing up your team meetings by:
Celebrate Core Achievements: Boost morale by publicly highlighting individual milestones and collective team wins.
Change the Scenery: Move meetings off-site occasionally to break up routine and encourage more candid conversation.
Host Learning Roundtables: Establish educational group syncs where team members can swap industry knowledge.
Leverage Insightful Media: Watch a highly relevant TED Talk together to anchor your scheduled meeting agenda.
Get Leadership Support
Don’t forget one of your best resources is your new boss.
