Days 1-30: Listen, Learn, and Build Trust

Congratulations, you’ve landed a new job or promotion! So, what is critical in those first 30 days to set yourself up for success?

The number one thing you need to do is ask questions. Not just any questions, but the right questions. Just as important as asking those questions is listening to the answers you receive.

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Understand the top priorities your boss or company expects from you in the first 30 days.

When starting a new position, there will be plenty of opportunities you identify as you begin diving into your role. However, that can quickly become overwhelming. There is also a risk that you start working on something that isn’t aligned with the priorities your leader has established.

That is why the first thing you need to understand is what your boss and company are expecting from you. What are the top priorities? What does success look like? What are the timelines?

Make sure you fully understand what is being asked of you and ask as many clarifying questions as needed to ensure you’re successful. Take the time to understand the resources available to you and identify who can help when you need support.

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Take the time to meet with your team and understand them on both a personal and professional level.

Once you have a clear understanding of your priorities, it is critical to spend time with each of your direct reports. I often visit them at their desk and spend an hour simply learning about what they do. Ask them to explain their job and listen throughout the process. You will quickly pick up on important information.

Do they enjoy their job? What are the pain points? Are there opportunities to improve the process or make their job easier?

At the same time, take the opportunity to get to know them personally. Do they have kids? Are they married? What hobbies do they enjoy?

This is one reason I like meeting people at their desk. You often see proud moments and memories displayed around their workspace. Those become natural conversation starters and make it easier to understand what is important to them outside of work.

Depending on the size of your team, I also try to connect with the next level down in the organization. If that is difficult because of team size, I encourage setting up short group meetings with indirect reports. This allows you to introduce yourself, explain your leadership style, and give employees an opportunity to ask questions.

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Find the quick wins.

Now, the sweet spot for being successful in your first 30 days is finding the quick wins.

During the time you spend learning your priorities and meeting with your team, listen for what I call quick wins. Quick wins are opportunities to build trust within your team by solving smaller problems that have a meaningful impact.

Listen for frustrations, recurring issues, or processes that never seem to work quite right.

Some of the problems you hear about may require significant investments of time, money, or resources. Those are not the issues you want to tackle first. Instead, document them and keep them on your radar for later.

Focus on the smaller issues that can be resolved quickly.

For example, an employee once complained that their feet hurt from standing on a concrete floor all day. The solution was simply purchasing anti-fatigue mats. It required very little time or money, but it immediately improved that employee’s work experience.

That is what I consider a quick win. The investment is small, but the impact is meaningful. These actions help establish credibility, demonstrate that you are listening, and begin building trust with your team.

Written by Danielle Flores. Guest post from DISHER.