"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."

"As a new leader, I would first get to know employees on a personal level to build that relationship and trust. Over my first few months, I would spend time with them one-on-one, getting to know what they enjoy about working at the company, what projects or tasks they are passionate about, and learning what they view as some of their greatest accomplishments. I would like to explore with them how they assess themselves, and if possible, I would speak to their previous manager to get feedback on their areas of strength and weakness, keeping in mind that is subjective information."