If you get hired or promoted to lead a new team, Here’s the playbook to run on Week 1:
1/ Get an Intro Let the person who called your number: -> set the context -> front-run the objections -> start planting seeds of your success Third-party praise is more potent than tooting your own horn. And this allows you to...
2/ Lead with Your Faults & Failures Of course, you’ve been fortunate. But they will not trust you if you don’t know how to lose. Even better, by leading with vulnerability, you: -> neutralize any power those mistakes hold -> show your new team how to engage
3/ Look Each Person in the Eye Have you ever built a meaningful relationship from a blast email? Me neither. And in our remote-first world, run-ins are infrequent. So even if it means you have to be on 15-minute Zooms all day, do it.
4/ Learn Everyone's Name If you can pull it off in advance, I would. If it feels like a magic trick when others do it, that's because it is. You instantly pull someone a step closer when you address them by name. Bonus: Uncover 1 thing they value. Family? Travel? Sports Team?
5 / Ask Everyone 3 Questions What is this team world-class at? -> Do not break this. What has been persistently broken? -> Find quick wins & monsters to slay. What's the most impactful investment we can make? -> Anticipate where the puck is going next.
6/ Orchestrate a Small Fire Drill Keyword: Small. 1 alarm fire, not 4. What you want: Data -> Business data: metrics, financials, survey results, HR trends, project plans. -> Metadata: who has a handle on their work vs. who is scrambling? No judgment, just data.
7/ Over-communicate On Friday, send a quick Loom video: -> What has you excited? -> What surprised you to learn? -> What new questions do you have? -> What should they expect next week? People are most anxious in times of change. Invite them into the conversation.
It may surprise you, but in Week 1, you lead from behind. -> Trust: Connect by role-modeling how you want them to engage. -> Context: Let them give you a tour of their business. Don't rush to change or show your value. Instead, respect what they've built w/o you.
If you found this playbook valuable, I'd love to try something a little different. If this thread gets 100 RTs, I'll put out the Week 2 playbook next week. Here, I'll make it easy on you: x.com/dklineii/statu…
If you found this playbook valuable, I'd love to try something a little different. If this thread gets 100 RTs, I'll put out the Week 2 playbook next week. Here, I'll make it easy on you: x.com/dklineii/statu…
So that escalated quickly. I'll drop the Week 2 playbook next Wednesday. And since this seems to have struck a chord, let's do a free 30-minute virtual whiteboard session next Friday. I'll workshop the most popular issues at 11am ET. Register here: lu.ma/za3tlo6q