To help you with starting a new role here are my top 3 tips:
Get Really Curious
Channel your inner child, ask open questions, use phrases such as “tell me more about that…”, “what makes you say that…” and “can you give me some examples”. Make why your favourite word, “Why do you do it like that?”, “Why didn’t it work?” and “Why do you focus on these industries?”. Being curious will help you learn more about the business, clients and your role.
Be Yourself
In Sheryl Sandberg’s Harvard Business School address, she said, “Bring your whole self to work. I don’t believe we have a professional self Monday through Friday and have a real self the rest of the time. It is all professional and is all personal.” It is important to share with your new team a little bit about who you really are, your whole self. Share your interests, hobbies, stories of your holidays and family. Take the time to get to know your new team socially, go out for lunch, coffee or dinner (In my case we did all three!). Getting to know your new colleagues will help you to build connections, meaningful relationships and will increase the likelihood of effective teamwork. You never know what you might discover – for me it was a shared love of coffee, chilli flakes and adventures.
Reflect, Relax and Recuperate
Take time out at the end of the week to reflect on how your first week has gone. While you still might feel like your colleagues are speaking Swahili at times, you will be surprised at how much you have learned in such a short amount of time. By taking time to reflect you will come to realise just how much you have achieved. At the end of your reflection write down all of the questions that you want to find the answers to in week two.
Now it’s time to relax and recuperate. All the learning can be tiring, be kind to yourself and make sure you get the sleep and exercise that you need to be at your best.
