More and more of our work today is done in team settings, and “teamplayer” is an increasingly important sought-out skill for future hires. However, hiring “teamplayers” is not enough to create healthy, high-performing teams. As a leader, you must take responsibility for helping your team come together by fostering an environment for the internal relationships and norms at the heart of high-performing teams to take root. In today’s fast paced world where people’s tenures in roles and in organizations are more fluid and shorter than ever before, the new question is how can you create these conditions quickly and within an ever-changing set of people?

In this video, I stress the importance of remembering that each new person equals a “new team.” This philosophy should help you understand the importance of investing time in the integration of the new employee or transfer not just in the company, division or role, but within the team as well.  Additionally, it helps remind us that it’s not just about the new person adjusting to the team, but the team embracing the new member and changing itself as a result of the new composition.

New Member, New Team