5 Ways Employees Can Help A New Manager Succeed On An Established Team

When a new manager joins a long-standing team, they are the outsider. The manager is learning not only the company’s culture but also the culture of the team they will manage. Joining an established team can be intimidating, even for an experienced manager, but the team needs to share responsibility for helping the manager settle in and learn more about what they are walking into. In this reverse onboarding, direct reports play a major part in bringing their manager up to speed in the organization and helping them understand the culture rather than letting them flair or possibly leave the company.

In the military, officers are usually on 1.5 - 3-year tours whereas and the enlisted personnel may be stationed at a command for up to 5 years. New leadership has to integrate quickly and get to know their teams quickly. Both understand this dance. Non-military organizations may have personnel in their jobs longer making it more difficult for new leadership to break through the get-to-know you phase and get to fit into the organizational culture, especially if there are cliques in place.

Employees who have worked together have developed routines, built relationships, and had unwritten ways of getting things done. Some team members may have applied for the management position themselves and feel disappointed that they were not selected, making the start of working with a new manager difficult. Others may be cautious about changes the new leader could introduce.

Established employees know how decisions are really made, who holds unspoken knowledge, and what solutions have already been attempted. A new manager may understand the organizational chart but still have little insight into how the work gets done unless you share it with them.

Organizations often focus heavily on what a new manager must do during the transition. The manager is expected to listen, build trust, learn the team’s work by asking questions, and establish credibility. Those responsibilities are important, but the team also plays a role in determining whether the transition succeeds.

1. Don’t compare the new manager to the previous one.

Change is rarely easy, especially when employees have worked with the same manager for a long time.

A new manager will almost certainly communicate differently, hold different meetings, or establish different expectations. That does not automatically mean the new approach is wrong and the manager will make changes.

Repeated comments about what the previous manager allowed, required, or preferred can prevent the new leader from establishing credibility. Saying “Our old boss never asked us to do this” can quickly become a form of resistance.

There are times when the previous manager’s approach should be discussed. A successful practice should not disappear simply because leadership has changed. Employees should explain what worked well and why it was valuable while supporting the new manager in the decision-making process.

Respecting the past should not prevent progress. The new manager should be expected to ask questions, set expectations, and introduce changes without being treated as if every change were a mistake.

2. Resist testing your new manager.

Some teams quietly test a new manager.

Employees may withhold information and wait to see whether the leader can figure things out independently. They may fail to mention an upcoming deadline, a difficult stakeholder, or an unwritten organizational rule.

In more difficult situations, employees who are unhappy with the selection may deliberately withhold knowledge to see the manager fail.

These informal tests waste time and create unnecessary tension and drama.

A manager cannot make sound decisions without accurate information. Withholding important knowledge does not simply hurt the leader. It can affect customers, schedules, budgets and the entire team’s reputation.

Employees have every right to raise concerns and challenge decisions when appropriate. Concerns should be raised honestly, and employees should cooperate in good faith, remembering that the new manager was hired for their experience and knowledge that the organization desires.

The goal should not be to determine whether the new manager can survive with the team. The goal should be to help the team succeed under new leadership.

3. Explain the “why” behind your work to your new manager.

Established teams often follow processes that make perfect sense to longtime employees but may appear inefficient, outdated, or unnecessary to someone new.

When a new manager questions a process, employees may immediately feel defensive. They may interpret the questions as criticism of their work or respond with some version of “That is how we have always done it.”

That response gives the manager very little useful information.

Instead, employees should explain why the process was created. Perhaps a step was added after a costly mistake. A particular approval may exist because two departments previously failed to communicate. A reporting requirement may help prevent a recurring customer issue.

The new manager needs both the process and the context behind it.

Explaining the history does not mean that every process should remain unchanged. Some procedures may no longer serve the team. However, providing context allows the manager to make informed decisions instead of unknowingly repeating problems the team has already experienced.

Questions should not automatically be viewed as criticism. Asking questions is one way a responsible manager learns.

5. Give the relationship time to develop with your manager.

Trust between a new manager and an established team rarely develops immediately.

Employees may be uncertain about the manager’s intentions. The manager may also be trying to determine which information is accurate, which challenges require immediate attention, and which team members can be relied upon for honest feedback.

Both sides are learning, and there should be mutual respect shown throughout the process.

The manager must listen, ask thoughtful questions and respect the team’s experience that will also empower their team.

The team must share knowledge, communicate concerns, and remain open to change.

That does not mean employees must agree with every decision the manager makes. It means giving the manager a fair opportunity to understand the work and contribute before deciding that the new leadership relationship will not succeed.

No one expects everyone to like each other, but if the new team is open to the new relationship, great things will happen across the team and the organization.