Chapter 2: Understanding the Job
It’s essential to assess the team you’ll be inheriting before accepting the role, as it provides a clear picture of what you’re stepping into. This is true whether you currently know the team or not. Understanding the team’s current performance, dynamics, and any existing challenges helps set realistic expectations and prevents unpleasant surprises after starting the job. This assessment allows you to identify potential issues, such as low morale, skill gaps, or interpersonal conflicts, that could hinder achieving goals. It also provides insight into the team’s strengths and weaknesses, enabling you to plan how to best support and lead the team from day one. By knowing what you’re faced with, you can make an informed decision about whether you’re equipped and willing to address the existing situation, ultimately increasing your chances of success in the role.
Do you already know the team you'll be managing?
Even if you're promoted within your current department, you don't know everything you need to know.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make at this point is to allow anecdotal, peripheral, and prejudicial knowledge affect your assessment.
Remember, one of the attributes of a great manager is being objective.
Whether your team is new to you or not, you must obtain a clear understanding of their responsibilities.
Ask for the job descriptions for your entire team.
Job descriptions articulate the required experience, skills, education, and responsibilities required of positions within your team.
These should be accessible since they should not be employee specific and are the source for public postings.
You’ll next need to discover the team’s current performance and productivity. You won't be able to access performance reviews until after taking the new management role. But you can ask targeted questions during the interview process, such as inquiring about the team’s recent achievements, challenges, and areas for improvement. Asking about turnover rates, team morale, and the reasons for the previous manager’s departure can also provide clues. Networking within the organization, if possible, to speak with colleagues who have interacted with the team can offer valuable perspectives on its strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, reviewing public information, such as company reports or feedback on platforms like Glassdoor, may provide broader context about the department’s standing within the organization. Here’s what you’re looking for:
Are there skill and knowledge deficiencies?
Do they have the tools and resources needed?
Is the team staffed appropriately?
Have they achieved any recent noteworthy accomplishments?
Are there performance inadequacies?
Are there significant conflicts, either within the team or with other stakeholders?
How is morale? Can recent employee surveys from the team be shared?
What are the primary goals, projects, and challenges facing the team?
What was their relationship like with their previous manager?
The goal of these questions is to divulge whether you're walking into smooth sailing or rough waters. You’ll never unearth every issue, but you need to discover key blind-spots before deciding on the role.
This lesson's goal was to discover your team's responsibilities, how they operate, and to gain a sense of current performance levels. Were you successful?
Possible Concerns:
There were no job descriptions.
You were refused access to job descriptions.
Your boss or others refused inquiries into performance and productivity.
You uncovered performance and productivity deficiencies that are significant, difficult to resolve, or outside your capability to address.
Job descriptions are not optional, if they don't exist, recognize you are dealing with an immature organization. If they exist but you’re refused access, find out why.
Maybe they include confidential or legal information only permitted to the line manager and above.
If that’s the case say that since you’re contemplating the job, you should be afforded access, and that you would be willing to sign a non-disclosure.
It’s more likely you’re dealing with an organization (or boss) that is concerned about information control.
Unless they can provide an answer that satisfies your common sense, this is a red flag regarding transparency, communication, and maturity level.
It's entirely reasonable for you to ask for and receive information regarding the team's current performance, even if not formal performance data.
If you were denied access to such insights, find out why.
If the answer is less than compelling, consider again the company's commitment to open communication, honesty, and level of maturity.
In the worst case, they could be hiding you from concerns that could sway your decision. I’ll assume that’s not the case, but you’ll need to assess the possibility.
Uncovering problems that you are uncomfortable with requires special attention.
Examples include existing performance issues, personnel conflicts, disengaged and negative team members, repeated mistakes and defects, or customer satisfaction issues.
Are these issues you can dig into before taking the job? Are these challenges you want to accept, problems you’re willing to inherit?
It's reasonable to take the job knowing you'll face difficulties, even tough ones. The key is fully understanding these issues before you make the decision.
In the following downloadable survey you’ll summarize what you discovered during the assessment by placing a weight on each concern that was raised.
This exercise is to help you visualize the concerns, it can’t recommend a direction, one way or the other.