Your first week as a manager

In your first week as a manager, everyone wants to prove they deserve it: fix the process, move the meetings, roll out a new plan. My advice is the opposite: in the first week, talk more than you change. Specifically, have these three conversations.

With your boss

Ask directly: over the next three months, what would show that I’m doing well? The answer is often not what you’d guess. Write it down and agree to revisit it in a month.

With each person on your team

Fifteen to twenty minutes each, one at a time. Three questions are enough: what is going well, what is wearing you out, and how can I help. Don’t promise to fix things straight away; just listen and take notes.

With yourself

List the things you were good at in your old role, then cross out the ones you should now hand over. This is the hardest conversation, because the old work is where you feel safe.

After the first week

You’ll have a list of what the team needs, what your boss expects and what you have to let go of. Only then is it time to change things, one at a time.

A sample article.