When you step into a new leadership role, 99.9% of the time, you’re inheriting an existing team with established intrapersonal dynamics, processes, and inside jokes. And 100% of the time, you’re all experiencing significant change. As a leader, the approach you take plays a central role in the success you’ll have and the time it takes to get there. (No pressure!)

Several of my coaching clients have recently taken on new teams, so I thought I would share six insights based on my experience as a business leader and a coach – along with what I’m learning from my clients.

1. Acknowledge that the transition is change management – and apply best practices for leading a team through change.

Stepping in to lead an existing team isn’t easy. Whether you’re the leader or a member of the team, you’re experiencing a change. Acknowledge it and tap into change management best practices to lead your new team through change. The most important element is to lead with empathy.

Recognize that it’s natural for change to cause feelings of discomfort and resistance.
Respect how members of the team are feeling – hopeful, apprehensive, fearful. And understand that each individual reacts differently based on their experiences and situations.
Don’t assume you know how others are feeling. By exploring, identifying, and acknowledging how people feel, you create authentic empathy that you can bring to everyone involved, including yourself.

When you take on the leadership of a new team, it’s imperative to resist the temptation to jump into the “what” without taking the time to uncover the “why.” Diving into the details may feel like a good way to get up to speed and, of course, you need to keep the team on track to deliver on its business commitments. But only focusing on what’s happening can be dangerous – and detrimental to the team and your ability to lead in the long term.

2. Start with the ‘why’ vs. getting caught up in the ‘what.’

Uncovering the team’s why is step #2. Exploring the team’s purpose beyond day-to-day tactical executions allows you to acknowledge the shared history and the team’s experience to date, which provides invaluable context as you make decisions and lead change.

Start by defining the value the team brings to the organization, stakeholders, customers – and the team members themselves. Engaging the team in helping you understand the why is crucial – and sparks important conversations. Ask about the types of problems the team solves and what would happen if the team didn’t exist. Prompt people to think beyond the “what” they do to articulate why it matters.

With a strong, shared “why,” you set a foundation for establishing priorities, delivering on business objectives, making changes, and, most importantly, aligning the team around a vision for the future.

3. Find out where the team sits against the pillars of high-performing teams.

Based on my own leadership experiences, my coaching practice and insights gleaned from Shirzad Chamine’s Positive Intelligence and Patrick Lencioni’s Overcoming the 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, step 3 provides invaluable insights into the team’s dynamics and its individual members. It also gives you key inputs as you map out your leadership approach.

Pillar 1: Self-actualization
Maslow’s theory of self-actualization applies to team dynamics. When operating in a group, people have a universal need to optimize their abilities, just like they seek self-actualization as an individual. Assess the following through observation as well as formal assessment tools: Are team members inspired to grow? Are they motivated to support the growth of others on the team? Are there opportunities to make a positive impact on others outside of the team?

Pillar 2: Earned trust
Trust must be consciously built – and maintained – over time. And it’s contagious. Leaders who extend trust earn trust in return. High-performing teams create a safe space for members to be themselves, admit mistakes, and feel supported. Evaluate your new team’s shared purpose and clarity around roles and responsibilities. How do team members communicate? Do they have respect for each other? Are they willing to work together for the good of the team?

Pillar 3: Healthy conflict
In a high-performing team, conflict is welcomed, not avoided. Through self-actualization and earned trust, team members are able to respectfully challenge and push each other. This type of healthy conflict elevates problem-solving, solution-building, and team performance. Assess how the team navigates conflicts. Do they turn to each other for help and advice? Do they ask each other tough questions – and collaborate to find the answers?

Pillar 4: Mutual accountability
Often, accountability is left to the leader. In high-performing teams, team members hold each other accountable for both performance and conduct. And they share ownership of the team’s successes and failures alike. Gauge mutual accountability by how the team describes its purpose and processes. Do they talk about “our objectives” and “how we’re performing?” Do they deliver on their commitments to each other? Do they hold themselves personally responsible for team results?

4. Define the leader you choose to be.

Whenever you lead – and especially when you step in to lead an existing team – it’s imperative to acknowledge there are members of your team who know more than you do. Some team members will have deeper technical or subject matter expertise. Others will bring critical institutional and industry knowledge. And some will be adept at navigating organizational dynamics.

Successful leaders tap into these strengths and provide a platform to optimize the collective expertise to tackle challenges, develop solutions, and achieve the team’s objectives. In my experience as a business leader and now as a coach, all of the above is sometimes easier said than done.

Today’s leaders don’t have to have all the answers. You can – and should – create your intention of how you want to lead. I suggest revisiting the definitions of expert vs. spanning leaders and mapping out how to enhance your spanning leadership skills. In simplest terms, expert leaders are doers, responsible for a team’s knowledge and execution. Spanning leaders enable team members to perform effectively by creating alignment and commitment around shared goals.

Along with choosing the type of leader you want to be, I also recommend taking the opportunity to define your team’s leadership competencies. An effective way to do this is through a mix of evidence-based assessment tools, individualized development, and coaching. By creating this type of leadership profile, you gain a better understanding of the motivations, decision-making styles, and role preferences within the team. It will also identify any leadership gaps that you need to address.

5. Create a contract with each of your leaders to elevate your interactions beyond the work at hand.

Two-way communication is key when leading a team you didn’t hire. We all know effective leadership doesn’t flourish with top-down directives alone. To empower and engage a team, leaders must create and implement a strategic communications plan. I recommend focusing on elevating conversations with the leaders on your team that go beyond the objectives and tasks on your plate. Level the playing field and build one-to-one relationships by establishing a contract with each leader that outlines not only what you need from them, but also what they need from you.

As part of the contract creation, give each other permission upfront to raise a red flag if either of you isn’t meeting the contract points you’ve outlined together. Well-defined obligations and boundaries accelerate understanding and trust, especially when you’re new to the group or organization. It’s all about collaborating to define what you’re going to do – and then doing it.

One of my favorite aspects of a leadership contract is the platform it provides for ongoing conversations. Revisit – and refresh – the contract regularly. It can help you identify opportunities for enhanced processes, innovation, and, most importantly, career development.

6. Ask great questions at every step along the way.

The final step in the 6-step framework? Adopting the right type of curiosity to fuel understanding across all facets of leadership. Great leaders have a genuine sense of curiosity that feeds a desire to engage, connect with, and learn from others.

Asking great questions – and listening to the answers – is a good start. But effective leaders do more than that. They take a “curious anthropologist” approach by asking sincere, discovery-driven questions. As a leader, you never want your questions to feel like they’re being asked by a detective who’s trying to piece together an event and uncover motives!

Here’s what I mean. Asking open-ended questions and practicing active listening are vital for all leaders, but absolutely critical when you’re stepping in to lead an existing team. When helping clients cultivate curiosity, I recommend using the “5 Whys” to take the discussion – and the leader’s understanding – beyond an initial answer. In addition to problem-solving and root-cause analysis, asking why, and then asking it again, can be used to seek understanding, make decisions, and define goals. It also conveys a desire to learn and ensures team members feel heard.

I’d love to hear from as you put this 6-step framework into action. And, whether you’re taking on leadership responsibilities for a new team or looking to strengthen your skills to optimize your current team, Coaching Works NYC is here to help. Contact me to learn more.

Taking on Leadership of an Existing Team: A 6-step Framework for Success