Orient New Team Members to Catch on
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There is a need to orient and train new team members. Smart teams pay attention to shaping that framework by defining team rules and how people need to behave.
A new team member has been assigned to work with another department on implementing a decision that her own team has struggled over for quite some time. In describing the decision to the other department, the team member says, “I’m not really sure why my team decided to do it this way. It seems kind of backwards to me. I bet you might have to change how you do it.” What’s going on here?
Obviously she is not representing her team confidently enough. This team member has broken a team rule: “We may disagree in the team meeting, but once we make a decision, we all have to be behind it 100%.” Why did she do that? The answer is simple: her supervisor did not properly orient her well enough with the team rules.
It is important that new hired staff or team members for that matter have to be oriented and taught how the team operates. What new members need is a clear description of how the team works – how the team comes to agreement, what the busy times are and what has to be done, what is expected of members if some team members can’t meet commitments – all the norms and values of the team.
The challenge for the team is for the team leader, a manager or supervisor, to actually remember to orient new members to the team’s culture and not to take for assume that new members will understand what is going on. For example, imagine an enthusiastic new member who is not aware of the team rule of presenting recent facts and data to make important decisions. It might take a while for it to dawn on the new member that it is an important aspect of the team’s operations. Meanwhile, the team may slip into unforeseen conflicts and delays when the new member attempts to persuade others based on opinion and speculation.
To keep the team running effectively, here are some tips to team leaders:
Be aware that new members need an orientation: Each team is unique and has its own method of operating. New members need to learn fast.
Focus on the basics first: Teach new members what the typical meeting agendas are, how meetings work, what is expected of them, and other related team activities.
Spend time debriefing the new member after the first meeting: ‘The team leader or a senior member of the team can review how and why things happen the way they did after the first meeting. The new member should not only be made aware of the rules but should also be made aware about team politics at play.
Granting that each team has a culture, a framework that defines what it is like to work within the team should be in place. Smart teams pay attention to shaping that framework by defining team rules and how people need to behave.
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