Ok, so here you are as a new member of a Leadership team. Keep in mind that it is YOU who are new, not the team. In fact, you may be the new kid on a long-established, well-functioning unit. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. If the team is functionally smooth and temperamentally good-natured, this is a good thing. It is likely that they will welcome you as a junior member who will fill a valuable place in the group. If the mentality is more like a club (or a gang), this is a bad thing. You may well find yourself on the outside looking in. You might be shut out or undercut as the “in crowd” determines whether they will accept you, or even need you as part of the crew.
In either scenario, you need to tread carefully. Do not assume that you can simply step into a predetermined slot and begin to operate as a fully functioning team member. You need to establish yourself, both professionally and personally, as a fit with the group. Do not take for granted that your track record speaks for itself. It can help, to be sure. But it may also work to your disadvantage if others feel threatened by your credentials.
I made a two- pronged goof on one occasion. I ascended to a leadership position in an organization that had a strong need for my area of expertise on the leadership team. The existing team had a long and tight history together and was not amenable to having an interloper try to invade their ranks. I misread all of this. First, I assumed that my considerable proficiency would be welcomed. Wrong. Second, I assumed that my ability to contribute would facilitate a natural assimilation into the club. Wrong again.
My attempts to provide useful input to the group were taken as an indictment of its ability (it was, kind of). And my attempts to fit the temperament of the group were seen as presumptuous, if not arrogant. My bad, to be sure. This unit had a deep culture that at best would have taken years to infiltrate. A better approach would have been a deferential, ingratiating one. Harder on the ego, to be sure, but possibly more efficacious in the long run.
In any event, it became clear to all that I was a necessary annoyance. We eventually worked out a mutually acceptable situation. I provided regular input and guidance that was taken and usually followed without comment. There was no cultural assimilation on anyone’s part. I developed my own teams and the rest of the leadership group went their own ways. Organizational history tells the rest of the story.
