The First Things to Do When You Get a New Boss
Your old boss is gone. Time to work with the new one
By | Lindsey Ellefson | lifehacker.com
Getting a new boss can be tough. The person who trained you is likely gone, and someone with limited knowledge about your company, team, and job is about to be in charge of your daily work life. But before you update your resume and start searching for a new gig yourself, consider these ways of approaching the new relationship.
Schedule an intro meeting
You don’t want to look like a brown noser, but be proactive and schedule a quick meeting with the new boss, one-on-one. Ideally, they’ll start reaching out to your team early on to schedule those kinds of meetings on their own, but if they don’t, you should take the initiative and ask to put some time on their calendar.
One Redditor suggested talking to the new person about your expectations and responsibilities upfront. Don’t go into the meeting defensively, even if you expect that you’re going to deal with someone whose style is different from what you’re used to. Try not to let it be known if you’re annoyed with the change; hostility won’t get you anywhere with a new leader.
Be prepared for your first impression
Dig up your job description. If you don’t have it on hand, ask your HR team for a copy of your responsibilities. You should also have a list of your accomplishments and successes on hand to share with them, so they see that you get results, are good at your job, and should (hopefully) just be left alone to continue what you excel at while they figure out their new role. But don’t go in there to just talk about yourself, either. You need to know what this new leader is all about, so come up with questions in advance.
