Your first meeting as a new Team Lead

00:00:00: There's a very specific moment in the professional life that does not come with manual or onboarding guide, and yet strangely enough everyone assumes you'll just figure it out.

00:00:12: It is at this point when your walk into room or log-in to call and suddenly... ...you're NOT one of team anymore!

00:00:19: You are THE TEAM LEAD!

00:00:22: Same faces same voice same person.

00:00:26: And yet everything has quietly shifted And if you listen carefully, You can almost hear it in the room.

00:00:33: That subtle re-calibration of expectations curiosity maybe a bit of skepticism and Occasionally hope so.

00:00:43: today let's talk about that moment because your first meeting as new team leader is not just another Meeting.

00:00:50: It Is The Beginning Of A Story Others Will Tell About You Long Before You Finished Your Second Sentence.

00:01:10: Hello and welcome to a new episode of the CoachDoc.

00:01:13: This time I focus on very special moment.

00:01:17: for many leaders, it's their first moments as team leader how they get into this role well prepared.

00:01:26: When people step up in leadership roles They usually come from a place of competence From skill set or knowledge.

00:01:37: They have been good at what they did, sometimes exceptionally good and that's often the reason why their way asked to lead.

00:01:44: And then almost overnight The rules change.

00:01:48: You are no longer responsible just for your own contribution but for the quality of collaboration For direction... ...for clarity and perhaps most importantly for the invisible web of expectations That holds a team together.

00:02:05: And this is where many new leaders underestimate what's actually happening.

00:02:10: Because in that very first meeting your team isn't primarily listening to WHAT you say, they are trying to understand how YOU will lead!

00:02:22: Now the situation becomes particularly delicate if you have been part of a team before because then there is an unspoken wish-in-the room that goes something like this... Please don't change.

00:02:34: And at the same time, there's another expectation equally present.

00:02:39: Please lead us!

00:02:41: Of course these two expectations don't sit comfortably well together.

00:02:47: This is where I find it helpful to borrow a perspective from transactional analysis developed by Eric Byrne.

00:02:54: In this model we speak about different ego states The parent... ...the adult and child ego state.

00:03:04: What often happens in these transition moments is that the new leaders either try to stay, In a very collegial most overly friendly mode what you might call The let's all Stay as we wear approach or they overcompensate and move into A more controlling directive stance.

00:03:24: Neither of These positions Is particularly helpful.What You are aiming for instead?Is the adult state a place Of clarity composure and respect, that shows in very small but important differences in language.

00:03:39: For example instead of saying well nothing really changes I'm just taking the new role formally.

00:03:44: now you may say something like some of you i've worked with for quite a while precisely because it's important to clarify what will be different going forward.

00:04:00: there is no harshness If on the other hand you are stepping into a team that you don't know at all, The dynamic shifts because now people aren't comparing to your previous version of yourself.

00:04:24: They're trying to locate you entirely and usually they ask themselves three questions whether consciously or not.

00:04:33: Can I trust this person?

00:04:35: Does he or she understand how things work here And is going to make my work-life easier or more complicated.

00:04:45: Which means that your first meeting is not primarily about content, it's about connection and orientation!

00:04:53: Now there's a useful idea from System Theory particularly the work of Niklas Luhmann – he suggests that organisations are not built out people but off expectations to a large extent.

00:05:13: To make those expectations visible, discussable and workable because if you don't they don't disappear They simply operate in the background.

00:05:22: Now there's a third situation that is becoming increasingly common In many organizations And perhaps youth experience this yourself Teams are being merged Different cultures different ways of working sometimes even different histories Of competition Are suddenly expected new unit.

00:05:43: And here the challenge is not only about you as a leader, it's about creating a shared starting point.

00:05:51: In such a scenario It can be incredibly valuable to create space early on for the team to articulate what matters To them.

00:06:01: For instance after short introduction You might invite people to reflect in small groups On two simple questions One What is important for us when working well together?

00:06:12: And second, what from previous ways of working should we definitely not lose.

00:06:37: If we bring in a leadership perspective, there is also a concept for Michael Watkins who wrote about the first ninety days.

00:06:45: His core idea was that early phase of a leadership role disproportionately shapes how you are perceived – not because you have to get everything right but because patterns begin to form and your first meeting is very much part of this pattern formation.

00:07:04: So what does it mean?

00:07:07: Let's make it very concrete.

00:07:08: It means that before you think about slides or agendas, updates... ...you take a step back and ask yourself different kinds of questions.

00:07:19: What needs to be clearer after this meeting than is now?

00:07:23: You might also want align expectations with your own manager understand what success looks like from her perspective And if possible, get a sense of the team dynamics.

00:07:35: Are there people who might have expected to step into this role themselves?

00:07:39: Other tensions you should be aware off before you walk in that room because most difficult conversations are rarely ones that happen at meetings.

00:07:48: they're other one's... ...that don't happened before.

00:07:52: When it comes to meeting itself It helps think less in terms content blocks and more In terms of narrative flow.

00:08:01: You might begin by briefly acknowledging the situation why this team exists in its current form.

00:08:08: Then you introduce yourself, not as a CV – curriculum vitae but as person…in a role!

00:08:16: You open the space, you invite perspectives expectations maybe even concerns because leadership especially in diverse intercultural environments is not about having all the answers ready.

00:08:37: it's about creating a space.

00:08:39: Creating psychological safety where relevant questions can be asked.

00:08:46: and a brief note on intercultural settings.

00:08:49: clarity becomes even more important.

00:08:52: What might be considered implicit or understood in one culture, context can be entirely invisible and not understood in another.

00:09:01: so being explicit about expectations is NOT a sign of rigidity.

00:09:06: it's the sign of respect.

00:09:17: let me leave you with five thoughts that make real difference for new leaders.

00:09:24: mark your role clearly in a way that is friendly but unmistakable.

00:09:31: Speak about expectations even if it feels slightly uncomfortable at first, invest your time especially in building connection not just sharing information address sensitive issues early rather than hoping they will resolve themselves.

00:09:51: and finally aim to be accessible but not ambiguous.

00:09:56: you don't need to please everyone.

00:09:59: you need to be understandable, too everyone.

00:10:03: And perhaps the most important idea to hold on your first meeting will not define everything but it'll set a tone and tones have tendency to linger.

00:10:15: so take time because this is where leadership begins!

00:10:21: That's all for now.

00:10:22: thankyou very much for listening.

00:10:23: I look forward back And goodbye, I'm Kai Kochmann.