As a new manager.

15 Comments

1. AnonymousJanuary 17,2023 at 10:38PM UTC

   Have you gotten any feedback from your other team members? If it's just that they are super friendly and she's more reserved, that's probably something that can be managed. If she's not a team player and it's impacting the workflow, that's a different issue and has to be addressed for her to pass her probationary period. If there are any serious conflicts, you need to sort them out now because you don't want to lose a high-performing team.

2. AnonymousJanuary 18,2023 at 2:04AM UTC

   First, hats off to you for being sensitive to the way your reports work together. That’s so important!

   It’s hard to answer your question without any information about *why* you feel the new hire is not doing well with the team.

   I agree with comment that it makes sense to ask individual team members — I think one-on-ones would be best — how the new hire is getting along. You also might want to pose the question to the new hire.

   If there seems to be a problem, some things to think about are:

   *What is/are the causes? They could stem from the new hire’s behavior, or the insularity of the team, or some type of bullying within the workgroup, or because of a simple misunderstanding between colleagues… or many other reasons. Your response will obviously depend on the cause.

   *Are there any DEI issues coming into play (race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion, beliefs, sexual preference)? If so, you and the company will want to stop this in its tracks, as it could lead to legal liability.

   *Does your work group need any team building efforts? Are there HR or company resources for this?

   *Would it help to have the new hire shadow another employee?

   *Would it help to have the new hire paired with another team member/other team members for a assignment?

3. AnonymousJanuary 18,2023 at 9:16PM UTC

   We are a small office 7 ladies. We had a team meeting last week, and she spoke rudely to the team when trying to find a way to better communicate. While the context of the feedback was great the delivery was not. We are working in our office to incorporate changes to have a better flow of communication. Because our office culture is to treat everyone with respect and to have professional conversations. And in this instant, the new employee was not feeling heard by the team and let her feelings over take the conversation, in order to be heard. While I have explained the we need to work together. The rest of the team is very standoffish. While i understand, the reasoning. Any ideas of how to bring this team closer?

4. Christy RJanuary 20,2023 at 3:37PM UTC

   This would be a great opportunity for the team to partake in a team building exercise centered around communication and team work. There could be underlying issues surrounding this. A lack of understanding regarding communication/personality styles to a clique-ish environment.

   The company I work for has provided extensive training in better ways to communicate, be inclusive, and has provided us with Insights Profiles and Disc Assessments. This has helped the team TREMENDOUSLY. I know one of my team members is a "green" profile so I communicate to her knowing what's important for her. My CFO is a "red" profile, so my communication style to them is different.

   Also, I would suggest coaching team members on being more inclusive - The new team member who felt she wasn't being heard may be feeling like an outsider. Is it possible there is a team dynamic at play?

   I think this is a tough situation, but my suggestion would be to get to the heart of the matter and provide training on communication styles, being inclusive, and team work. It would be a great growth opportunity for everyone.

5. JJJanuary 18,2023 at 6:45AM UTC

   Maybe it’s your team. Bring new is hard. Teams are clique-ish.

6. AnonymousJanuary 20,2023 at 1:40PM UTC

   Came to say exactly this. It could be the team and not her. It could be the fact they don’t like her but if she is good at her job don’t let them rule who stays or not. Put them in their place. If that’s the case!!

7. AnonymousJanuary 20,2023 at 9:45PM UTC

   Absolutely agree with this! Sometimes the team will already have established clique(s) as well as a way of working. Whilst the newcomer is usually expected to adapt, sometimes the team need to make sure they’re also providing support and assistance too.

8. AnonymousJanuary 21,2023 at 8:47PM UTC

   Exactly. This is why I commented the below. I am a new manager and the team haven’t adapted well to my arrival. The team leader who has been there years expected the job but she just isn’t good enough, her communication is poor and I was hoping to coach her but I have been made very unwelcome. Only been there 3 months and she has also been aggressive towards me and told some serious lies. Thinking is it worth it at this point. I do really like the job but I’m struggling. I don’t know what to do. The team are awful as I think their loyalty lies with her. Madness. Being bullied out of my dream role basically.

9. Bonnie CoventryJanuary 19,2023 at 2:44PM UTC

   Depending on your companies rules and policies. My view would be, have you had a conversation on their opportunities. Have you set expectations and goals that need to be met. If there's not a performance plan in place it's hard for all parties. Have you provided a code of conduct training and then dialogued about it. Have you sought a coworker advocate to help them mesh better. If there are violations of polices, etc, that's different. Ask the team member in a touch base, so 'how you do think things are going for you', 'do you need help with anything', 'as we all have opportunities what do you think your current opportunities are'. If you give them a voice sometimes they start identifying things they could work on OR say the opposite that they also don't feel it's a good fit. Now, I'm not saying you haven't done all this but we are in a different time, invest more and see where it lands. Good luck.

10. AnonymousJanuary 19,2023 at 5:19PM UTC

    Private conversation where you can both ask for her feedback about how she thinks she is doing, praise her for what is good. And then also provide some feedback on places where the feedback is not quite so good. Set expectations for how to course correct. You don't mention being the lead or the manager but if neither is your role bring it there and let them handle it.

11. AnonymousJanuary 20,2023 at 1:31PM UTC

    When reading this, I had so many questions pop into my head. What kind of office environment is? It are the skilled set of people each with unique roles? Is everybody doing the same work? And something of unique interest that you mentioned. That the feedback was good, with the delivery not so much. I personally have this problem as well, unfortunately I tend to be too literal or direct for some tastes to be honest with you a lot of times I didn’t even understand that other people thought my delivery was not acceptable. Obviously, I don’t know all the circumstances of the situation but maybe you could work on how the team communicates with each other and give a framework for it . A book I read recently called “smart brevity” offer some amazing ideas on communication. A new team member is difficult, it’s difficult for the old gang team, the new manager, and really hard for the new member to try to figure out how to fit into this new environment.

12. TheodoraJanuary 20,2023 at 1:38PM UTC

    Definitely need more details. Has your team come to you about her not being a team player? If it's just clash of personalities, that can be dealt with, but if she's making it difficult for others to get their work done, it's not worth keeping her on.

    I had to let one of my team members go because of this. She refused to help out the team members when they were swamped with work. Her attitude was bringing the whole team down. She even told me once she didn't want to work on the project I had given her. It was evident she wasn't a good fit.

    If the new hire is a hinderance on getting work done, that's a huge issue. Good luck!

13. AprilJanuary 20,2023 at 3:08PM UTC

    Team dynamics are important to the success of a department. It’s important to address the concerns early by providing examples. As s manager, it is helpful to observe the behavior so that you can clearly describe it to the team member. This may provide an opportunity for you to set expectations of team involvement, participation and contribution! Observe and share… and give feed - forward not feed back! Good luck

14. AnonymousJanuary 20,2023 at 3:11PM UTC

    Can you provide more detail on what she said/did that was perceived as being rude?

    Is this a situation where she may feel under pressure to produce but needs help and support from the team to execute? Are you giving this new employee the support and vote of confidence she needs?

15. Jennifer TaylorJanuary 20,2023 at 4:42PM UTC

    What exactly are her issues with the team? Could she be neuro divergent and not able to communicate well? I’m ND and sometimes I struggle with basic social interaction. I would talk with the team, and talk with her first before making any decisions, especially if her work is good.