Merry Christmas, Here’s a New Team.
It was December 23rd and I got a ping from our Chief Revenue Officer, “Merry Christmas, your team is growing,” he said.
I had assumed this would happen sooner or later, as we were in the middle of several large post-acquisition integrations. I have built and acquired many teams before, however thanks to this blog, I now have the unique opportunity to dissect my situation and make it coherent for others to follow. As with all things on this site, my goal is to translate a complex situation into a digestible, repeatable, effective process for you. Here are my guiding principles.
Step 1: Empathize.
First impressions are built quickly for a new manager. It is important to understand the circumstances of a new team and the history of the function you inherited. In my experience of taking over new teams, one thing has been brutally consistent about each one, they were previously dysfunctional. I dont know if I find the dysfunction or the dysfunction finds me, but many of these folks came with serious battle scars.
There’s a certain type of person that works in operations, especially in tech. This person is usually selfless, motivated and aims to deliver and please his or her customer. They are the long snapper in football. When done right, you don’t even know they’re on the team. When done wrong, they’re getting booed off the field. This person will outwork the room and not expect the highest salary or credit for their tasks. They will stay behind the scenes and be happy with it. However, don’t take this selflessness for granted, because when this person gets pushed too far, it can get ugly. In nearly every situation I have walked into, the ops team has had an ‘us vs. them’ mentality about other functions in the business due to historical mistreatment. In fact, I once took over a team and in my second week of work, we were huddled in a conference room for a team meeting. A colleague from another team knocked on the door, opened it and then started asking a woman in my group about a project-related question, completely interrupting our team session. I was livid, but also flabbergasted. This lack of respect was clearly a cultural norm that had been set well before I had arrived. It was no surprise that this same woman had a breakdown weeks later and had to leave because she was so stressed and distraught.
What is important is that you discuss these battle scars. Get to know your individuals, understand friction points, listen more than you talk. Make sure that if each individual were asked “does my new manager understand my pain?”, 100% of them would say yes.
Step 2: Impress.
Whether you like it or not, everyone on your team and across functions will be watching you. First impressions are important. Just like a child, organizational behavior is learned very quickly. If my three year old asks for ‘one more show’ before bed and I say yes, she’ll ask for one more show every night going forward (guaranteed). If a salesperson jumps the process to get a deal through in short order and you allow it, expect it to happen the next time too. As a new manager, you have no more than 1-2 months to set the tone within your group. This is mission critical for the longevity of your team.
My culture is autonomous and direct. I expect individuals to make decisions for themselves and achieve the goals I set for them and for us. If they have a clear vision of their (and our) success, I expect them to execute it. I also view myself as ‘working for them.’ My job is to make theirs easier and pick up the banana peels before they slip on them. Lastly, my team is filled with humans and it is very important they are treated as such. We are in the middle (end?) of a pandemic and everyone has enough stress going on in their personal lives. Our team should be a safe spot to be themselves without judgment.
As such, my very first team meeting with the new group set the tone of what I expect. I was genuine, conversational, empathetic yet direct with our goals. “I am a huge fan of OKRs, expect these in the coming weeks. I was also part of an acquisition here and I know what you must be feeling (concern, anxiety, imposter syndrome, excitement…). My goal is to ease this burden and get you integrated, productive and happy as fast as I humanly can,” I said.
Step 3: Sprint.
My old boss once taught me the concept of a ‘surge and reset,’ which I still use to this day. He honed this skill as a consultant and enlisted me to do the same in my work. I have no problem grinding 12 hour days if I know it is going to help my team take work off of my plate eventually (so I can work 6 hour days later on). When taking over a new group, it is easy to get into analysis paralysis and try and dissect all the problems that you are seeing and hearing. The reality (point #2 above) is that you have a fast closing window to set a tone and establish credibility. Don’t take too long. Achieve something vs. get stuck on everything. Results matter. They instill confidence and motivate others.
As such, you need to come out of the gates sprinting for the first two months. I liken the pace to that of a 400 meter dash (I ran this in high school). The 400 is thought to be one of the toughest races in all of track, as it is one loop around the track at nearly a dead sprint. It is the perfect blend of fast-twitch speed and painful, long distance endurance. If you’re not nearly passing out at the end of the 400, you aren’t competing. The same goes for the first 1-2 months of taking over a new team.
I'm not proud of this calendar, but this is mid-sprint (this week's agenda)!
In month one of this sprint, I prioritized establishing a culture by holding skip level meetings and cross-functional 1x1s, where my first question was always “what isn’t working?” I also established team metrics that were aimed at the major problems I had unearthed. Lastly, I prioritized relationships. I met with as many people as I could and quickly assessed who was responsible for what and how my team was either aiding or debilitating their success. I wanted promoters in our business, not detractors.
I liken this approach to one of the modern day greats, NFL coach Sean McVay. Not only did he go to my alma mater (what’s up Miami of Ohio!), but he is currently in the NFC divisional championship game and a mere 2 years older than me. His success at the highest level of team building has been unparalleled. One ‘Mcvay-ism’ is a concept of ‘urgent enjoyment.’ Its apparent that he goes 150% all the time, as evident in this video where he can literally identify the exact situation of three random plays over three games without blinking an eye. He is so invested in his team’s success that it has overtaken his brain. I aim to have this same type of energy, especially during the ‘sprint’ stage of my new team.
While we’re on the topic of Sean Mcvay, see this brilliant Twitter thread highlighting his leadership style.
Step 4: Plan.
This step should actually be done in parallel to step 3. Its easy to get caught up in a sprint and forget about everything else. Don’t do that. I execute best when I have a pre-defined playbook to run. With a new team, you’ll need to create that playbook for yourself. Ask yourself what the goal of you receiving this team is? It will certainly be one of these three:
Margin (efficiency). The company will be looking for you to do more with less.
Growth (revenue). The company will be looking for you to expand current capabilities and/or unlock new business.
Stabilization. The company will be looking for you to bring some sense of normalcy and consistency.
Depending on the business objective, create a plan 2-4 quarters out (a power point, excel model, etc.) and present this to your senior leadership. Get their buy in. What matters is that you take your fresh thoughts (and perspective) and put them into an action plan. This gives them confidence that you have the situation under control and are also operating with the company in mind. It is easy to get too inundated with a situation and then lose seeing the ‘forest from the trees.’ Said differently, when you immerse yourself it is easy to lose outside (objective) perspective on what is most urgent. In prior years, it has been remarkable reading my plans vs. the reality of where the team and business has ended up (it was nearly spot on). Make sure you know what you are being measured on and you’ll make the right decisions from there.
Step 5: Reset.
By now, if you have run steps 1-4 appropriately, at the 4-6 month mark, you will certainly be moving in the right direction. You will be more of a domain expert and comfortable with your own decision making. You will rely less on others and lean on your instincts. After all, this is why you’re being paid to run the team. Look back at your created plan (step 4) and make sure you’re pacing. Pivot where you need to and don’t think too hard about it. By this point, you should be comfortable hiring on your own instincts, bringing people in within network (past colleagues) and letting people go who do not fit the mold of your current team DNA. Take a couple of deep breaths and look back at all you’ve accomplished in just half a year.
By this point, you should be well on your way to building a high performing team and there’s no doubt you’ll look something like the LA Rams.
