This episode’s question:
I’m starting a position soon as a senior engineer at a company, where my new leadership and I have discussed a potential track where I come on board as a senior engineer and then, if things are working well, moving me into more of a team lead and leadership track. As a result, I’m wondering if I should approach this differently than other jobs where I’ve come in before as senior member of a team. I know what I’d do, and it has generally worked well with me in the past, but I would be really interested to know how both of you approach this, as some of this is new territory for me.What is your process when you start as a leader or as a senior member of a new-to-you but already established team? More specifically:
1. What sorts of things do you ask your leadership when you’re coming into a new team?
2. What do you ask the outgoing leader if they’re still available?
3. How do you approach and start to build rapport with your team members, especially if they’re tightly knit and may be wary of outsiders?
Archaic references from old people: