Becoming a leader of a team is very exciting when it happens to you. You can see so many positive things that can come out of this experience. Developing your team members, taking on larger projects, gaining more responsibility, exposure to senior management and moving up a rung on the corporate ladder to name just a few. Everyone will look to you for thought leadership, decision making and to see how you will make your mark with this team that you have now.
When you first start you are trying to take in so much new information. What does everyone do in the group? Who are your team members, what are their experiences and what are their strengths? How can you set this team up for success to accomplish the objectives that you have been given? This is your time to look at things objectively and decide if there are changes that you want to make. Meet with your team members and clients to listen to them and analyze what is working or not working.
Realistically, you should have met with all the key players, gathered information, thought about what changes are needed, documented them, aligned them with some key stakeholders and be ready to announce them at the end of your first 90 days. It doesn’t have to be exactly 90 days, but the sooner you implement these changes, the easier it will be. Making them after 6 months or longer is not impossible, but it is more challenging. People have already started working with you using the current organization setup processes and procedures that already existed.
Start with what you think is best and build the best foundation with your team that you can. There will always be new projects, resource changes or new priorities that come along which will require shifts to what your group is doing. Keep evaluating how things are working and as these types of changes happen you can incorporate any other adjustments that you want to make too. Don’t overanalyze things and let perfection get in the way of what will work for right now. Just start leading your team and begin making a difference for them and your organization.