10 questions to ask your new team.

Rainbow walls and hallway with text overlay 10 Questions to Ask Your New Team, Kick Things off Right, by Rikki Goldenberg, Executive Leadership Coach, Career Coach

Joining a new team might make your introvert nerves fray. Just me?

You don’t know anyone but… you need to work with them immediately. And you need to make it work immediately. Whether you’re shifting into a leadership position, or taking on the old guard… it’s going to be a bit of a mess for a minute.

So how can you do the best team kick-off - whether you’re a new manager, or just joining a new team?

You can take a moment to answer (and ask!) these 10 questions to better understand the crew you’re working with!

Why is it important to have a team kickoff?

If we don’t take time to learn about each other, we risk stepping on toes and not setting ourselves up for success.

We have to sit down and create trust and safety -> that we then deliver on, over time. Trust is built over a long period of time, so take the first step to creating open dialogue.

Create the space to share, to learn, and to listen to each other.

Kicking off a new project? Try this list of questions instead.

The top 10 questions to ask your new team

How to take this on: have each team member answer these questions before a meeting. You may choose to do the team kick off as a group, or, you may meet with each individual, individually. Your choice. My personal recommendation is to share yours with everyone, and then let folks meet with you individually to share their own - but that’s because I struggle to share personal tidbits in groups!

Why do we do this: to make sure we’ve taken the time to really learn about each other.

What questions should we include: I gotcha! Look below for a starter list!

The top 10 questions for your new team

  1. What is your style of working? Do you like to be clearly directed or are you more entrepreneurial? Do you have a very linear/organized approach to work? Is it a messy “don’t look til I’m finished”? Or a “come on in and see the mayhem”? Are you solution oriented? Or process oriented? Whatever it is, share how you like to work so that we can support it. Don’t know yet? That’s okay too, we can start to figure that out together.

  2. What do you value? Do you push for transparency, or are you on a need-to-know basis? Focused on efficiency, or doing it right the first time? A learn-as-you-go or gather all the research before you start. Logic or emotions? Whatever it is, start to learn about your own values at work, so that you can share them out.

  3. What are some of your pet peeves? Meetings that don’t end on time? Backstabbing gossip? Convoluted messaging? Folks who don’t deliver when they say they would? Let us know so that we can avoid ruffling those feathers!

  4. How do you like to be communicated with? Do you like it to be direct and explicit? Or does your heart want a little extra compassion to soften the blow. Do you want slacks? Emails? A phone call? How do you like to ensure you haven’t missed anything.

  5. How do you like to receive feedback? Do you like to receive feedback immediately in the moment, no matter who’s present? Do you want feedback to always be in private? Do you want feedback to be emailed prior to meeting so you can review? Or would you rather get it after the meeting where it was discussed to reflect? Feedback is tricky, and it’s a process to find what you like and how you like it.

  6. What is important for you regarding your work? Is it to have heads-down time? Is it to ensure that you’re recognized for your efforts? Do you require check-ins, or does that feel like micromanagement? What is special to you and your style of working?

  7. Where do you need help? What are you working towards in the near-term and the long-term? What are the goals that you have within work, and work-adjacent? What’s some past feedback that you’ve received, and how would you like to approach it.

  8. What is something that folks get wrong about you? Do folks sometimes think you’re flighty or flaky? Maybe they think you’re super intense - when really, you’re just terse! Whatever it is, let’s hear it!

  9. How do you like to be recognized? Do you want that big shout-out at the all-hands? Or a simple email that’s straight to you? What feels best?

  10. What can I do to best support you? What do you need from your manager? How can I be the best manager for you?

Need more than these 10 questions to feel confident that you’re starting things off right? Connect with me to work together on showing up as the best leader (or team member) you can be.

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