Don't Alienate Your New Team as a Manager

5 Tips to Survive as a Manager in a New Team - From a Staff Engineer

You don't want to come across as "being against the team". You and your team will have a terrible time.

I've had many managers. Some made the mistake of coming on too strong and alienating senior engineers. So, I care about how managers can be effective in their new team.

In this article, I’ll share how you can avoid the classic pitfalls and be an effective manager. These tips also apply to new tech leads. Also, non-managers can learn what their manager should do and help them.

The Problem

Joining an established team can be tough. You may not know the team processes, history, and problems. You have your values, which may clash with the team's.

This could upset the team when you:

1. Push for quality while they rush to ship.

2. Change status update formats and frequency.

3. Alter project priorities due to external pressure.

4. Push for speed but the senior engineers disagree.

5. Change project management styles.

Conflicts can happen, even when you're right. So, it's about your approach.

Scenario Illustration

Imagine you take over a new team. You learn from other managers that your team does not agree to reducing costs by X%. You realize your team has “strong” reasons that seem superficial to others. Your team is frustrated by the push.

What do you do?

1. Get the team to plan the cost reduction OR

2. Understand all the nuanced reasons why your team cannot reduce costs?

It may seem that #2 is the correct answer here, but that is not recommended.

If you chose #1 because you're convinced it's feasible, explain it to your team. Let them ask questions.

If you agreed due to peer pressure, work on your leadership skills.

The better way: Tap into the expertise of the team, especially when new.

1. Play your newbie card with other managers. Buy time.

2. Work with a senior engineer in your team.

3. Acknowledge this discussion could delay other commitments.

4. Help them understand the external perception. Say something like:

   1. "Our team may be right but others don't buy it. I don't have all the right background to defend this decision."

   2. "This effort has org-wide impact and we need to do the due diligence and message that."

   3. "I need help with context and your time to catch up. I can help with communicating the final decision."

5. Listen, understand, and help them come up with the next steps.

Unlike your previous team, this new team does not trust you yet. They have no reference to how awesome you are. The first few months are important for building rapport and earning their trust. So, you need to be extra cautious during this time.

This scenario is based on true stories. In fact, I have seen new managers take both the good and not-so-good paths in similar situations. So, the problem is real, and we should avoid it.

5 Tips to be an Effective Manager

Trust is the foundation of a great manager-team relationship.

1. Build relationships

Connect with your team members. Understand what excites and worries them. Learn their career goals and past accomplishments. Discuss their needs.

Be human. Show you're not perfect and want to learn. Acting the opposite puts up a shield around you, and your team will do the same.

One of my managers wanted everything to be perfect when they started, and I felt the need to maintain a confident demeanor during our 1:1 meetings. Instead of learning to be vulnerable. I found myself overthinking how to prove that I wasn't incompetent.

2. Take your time

Wear your newbie badge, at least for the first three months. Don't rush decisions. This is the exact situation that I mentioned above. If you succumb to the pressure, you are likely going to make a bad decision and end up ruining your relationship with your team members.

When you feel rushed, hold your ground. Unleash the power of "I don't know". Learn fast but decide slowly.

You have a lot of experience and are finding things to improve. Make a list while you learn more. Here is how you can handle it:

3. Listen

Ask questions. Don't impose decisions. Understand why something isn't right.

So prefer asking questions instead:

• "Why do we have 5 similar alerts?" instead of "we should dedupe the alerts."

• "What’s our core metric for project X?" instead of "why don't we have any core metric and how were we even tracking progress?"

• "How do we share team-wide updates and do our partners find it useful?" instead of "we should send out team updates more frequently."

• "I noticed that customer A escalated problems to us 5 times last month. How are they affected?" instead of "Wow! Customer A has escalated 5 times. We should fix their problem."

• "When are we supposed to deliver project X? Are we on track? What is slowing us down?" instead of "Management wants us to go faster."

Understand the responses and follow up as appropriate. You will learn a few things and adapt. Also you may help the team to update their decisions.

4. Seek Help

You need help - not just from your manager but also from your team. The senior engineers on your team are a valuable resource, so make use of them. This has two benefits - you can easily obtain information and you can build a strong relationship with them.

Managers who have asked for my help have shown that they not only value my input but also consider me as their peer.

Don't be afraid to ask questions, even if they may seem silly. Asking questions can bring attention to obvious gaps that the team may have overlooked.

5. Add Value

When engineers ask for your help, deliver. That is the best way to build trust. Be their sounding board. Give honest and direct feedback (positive & constructive).

After having ramped up many managers, I have noticed this pattern. Managers who make a deliberate effort to build relationships, listen, and seek help are able to support their teams effectively over time. So, give it a try.

Have you recently joined a new team as a manager or gotten a new manager? What went well and what didn't? If you have more tips, please share them in the comments.

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