6/6/2015–9 days down, each better than the last. For a company in such a state of change, people are oddly upbeat and passionate about their work. Maybe it’s due in part to my newness.
Daily I’ll meet with multiple people to gather information about my projects. Almost every meeting has gone longer than scheduled due to my interviewee’s willingness to share–greatly appreciated on my part. After about 20 of these, I’ve yet to feel burdensome in the least bit to anyone. So ubiquitous, this is evidence of a successful development of culture I wouldn’t have expected at such a large company.
Another good call on the part of MT–in the beginning, “fit in, fit in, fit in!” There is a simple reason behind it which I witnessed–very little can be delivered in the first month or so (from a “results” perspective). But a great deal can be initiated from a relationship perspective. In other words, more can be achieved each hour spent building relationships vs trying to produce work output. I take it to mean “over-value networking early on”. Supporting this is each piece of feedback I received so far; week 1, “I love that you introduce yourself to everyone, no matter who they are.” And week 2, “Several people tell me you’re quite engaging.” While these aren’t directly related to my projects, I don’t imagine I could’ve earned 2 solid pieces of feedback for results in 9 days. Furthermore, the return on these investments will fully manifest down the road, potentially as greater work output (ipso facto a job offer). I’d like to note for reference that I’m fairly shy by nature (ISTJ on Myers-Briggs) and probably benefit less from networking as compared to extroverts.
QOTW–“If everyone had common sense and followed PvPs, we wouldn’t need these policies.” — Guy
?FNW: How do I push myself? Finished wk 1 “Learning how to Learn” course
11/16/2017 review–Yes, “fit in” is the best advice I have ever heard for how to be effective joining a new team. It’s proven to be the right mindset to adopt in my experience as a restaurant manager, a grad school team member, club leader, an intern, and now as a new-hire HR manager. There seems to be a fundamental truth at play–the people who make up the team you’re joining have already established a culture (aggregate behaviors). Whether not it’s a healthy culture doesn’t matter when it comes to how quickly you can influence them. Instead, their acceptance of you depends on your ability to persuade them you’re not going to try to change the habits they’d rather keep as part of their culture. Furthermore, “not changing them” only gets you halfway toward effectiveness. The pinnacle is to show you’re going to adopt their culture as you seek to understand why they do what they do–regardless of how effective it is. This is a sadly under-taught lesson. Trust trumps correct. Nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.