How to Start a New Job

I've had so many lives it astonishes even me. Here I am once again reinventing my life at an age when my cohorts are thinking about retirement. I honestly have no idea what retirement is nor do I care.

I have a new position as director of a division for a small company. It's in search engine optimization, an area that is fascinating to me.

But how does one transition from being the new kid on the block to an accepted member of a team? How does one channel the enthusiasm that brought one to accept the job into the already running processes of others who have been at the company for years?

I think it's like building any other kind of relationship. It involves active listening and respect for the work lives that others have built at this successful company. You have to realize that people have already established a culture and you muist accept in humility that assimiliation into that culture takes time.

1. Pay attention to the relationships between others at your new workplace. Human relations involve emotion and drama but if your new workplace is a healthy environment, the leadership provides a kind of parental stability to the atmosphere.
2. Ask questions of everyone. Make it clear that you value what they can teach you about the culture and operation of this new home.
3. Try to understand what's important to your new coworkers. Is this just a job to them? Even if it is, most everyone has some of their identity invested in the work that they spend a third of their lives and half of their waking hours at. The better you are at understanding what their position at the company means to them and respecting that, the more likely you are to make them an ally.
4. If you were brought on to make changes or lead a previously leaderless division, look for ways to demonstrate to your new coworkers that you're there to make their lives easier. You're there to solve problems and help the company be profitable. If you can find ways to show others that you're on their side, they'll embrace you.
5. Be patient. You can't quickly integrate into what is essentially a clan. Humans have been tribal for millennia longer than they've been civilized. An outsider trying to push their way in will trigger very primal responses deep in the animal part of our brains. Once you have demonstrated evidence that you're there to make things better for everyone, you'll be accepted.

Being the new kid on the block is seldom easy. It requires nuance, maturity, patience, and a desire for success that goes beyond your own individual accomplishments.