"As a new leader, I keep in perspective that it can be an overwhelming and challenging time for employees. In my first week, I typically have a team meeting to introduce myself and meet everyone; then, I set up initial one on ones and reoccurring meetings as well. In the first few meetings, I dive in and seek to understand their past work experience, what they feel is going well, what they feel are obstacles or barriers, their career goals, projects they have worked on, etc. I typically spend the first few weeks assessing their personality, collaboration, and technical skills before I read their past performance reviews; that way, I don't have any biased or preconceived ideas before I get to know them. I also seek feedback from the team in these one-on-one meetings. For example, I might ask, "who on the team do you go to when you need help" so I can further identify who the team views as mentors or leaders."
