On Shaking Things Up

An enormous variety of situations fit the description, "Entering a Group at Work." The newcomer might be the group's leader. Or not. The group might have been newly formed. Or not. The newcomer might be replacing someone who had a starring role. Or not. And on and on. I can't cover all situations in one post. So I'll focus this time on one fairly common situation. In the interest of informality below, I refer to the newcomer as newcomer or Alvin. Here are the elements of the situation I call "Shaking Things Up:"

• The group Alvin is joining has been together for several months.
• Their task is important to the organization.
• Progress has been slow and the deliverable is now urgently needed.
• The group has been stuck for a while.
• Alvin has expertise that's relevant to the task, but he hasn't been involved until now.
• Alvin's joining this group wasn't his idea.
• It wasn't their idea either.
• Someone outside the group who has organizational power — call her Pam — thought Alvin could "get things moving" and decided to invite him to join the group.
• Alvin didn't really feel that declining Pam's "invitation" was an option.

Be skeptical of generic guidelines for newcomers

The usual advice to newcomers relates to communications. Tips available on the Web suggest adopting generic "best practices," such as active listening, asking clarifying questions, being open to feedback, and participating in discussions. This is good advice, if followed in moderation. As a newcomer, Alvin will do well if he adopts a communications stance that approximately matches that of the incumbent group members, at least for a time.

Although Newcomers who present themselves
as aggressive or even a bit too eager
will likely meet resistance to their
efforts to enter the groupcommunications "best practices" are helpful, they aren't decisive. Incumbent members are probably assessing newcomers. Newcomers who present themselves as aggressive or even a bit too eager will likely meet resistance to their efforts to enter the group.

Situation-specific guidelines

Whatever Alvin's situation might be, it has attributes that make it unique. Newcomers who consider the specifics of their situation are more likely to reach an outcome they find constructive. Here are four guidelines that apply to Alvin's specific situation.

Every addition to the group can send the group into a Storming stage

According to a widely accepted interpretation of Tuckman's model of small group development as applied to modern task-oriented work groups, adding someone to a group calls for the group to spend some time forming itself into a new configuration. And a Storming stage will follow. [Tuckman 1965] [Brenner 2025.1]

So after Alvin joins the group, and after the introductions, and after the work is redistributed, the group will likely enter a Storming stage. Anticipating the Storming stage, Alvin would do well to tread carefully until the storm abates somewhat. Avoiding ruffling feathers doesn't prevent conflict or offense, but it does prevent his providing fuel for the Storming stage.

Contributions from newcomers won't get far until the group trusts the newcomers

Some of the incumbent members of the group know and trust Alvin already. Some members have worked with him in the past, and perhaps some aren't particularly happy with how that went. Others have never met Alvin. They have no personal knowledge on which to base either trust or distrust.

Even though someone with power (Pam) appointed Alvin to the group, gaining trust takes time. Nobody is powerful enough to control who everyone trusts or distrusts. Developing trust can't be hurried, even by volunteering to handle the tricky tasks. Alvin can gain trust by doing what's asked of him, doing it well, and doing it without complaint.

Beware the perils of the mandated newcomer role

Alvin is an example of a mandated newcomer — someone the group is compelled to accept as a new member. Mandated newcomers are welcome in some cases, such as when the incumbents know and like them, or when they fill incumbent-acknowledged gaps. But in other cases, incumbents and newcomers alike would do well to guard against the effects of bias against the newcomer owing to the group having been compelled to accept the newcomer.

Alvin knows that he means well. He harbors no ill will toward the incumbent members of the group. But some of them don't know Alvin. They don't know what kind of deal Alvin has with Pam. Some members might see Alvin's joining them as a criticism of their own past performance.

Meet the incumbents personally

Newcomers, mandated or voluntary, will gain trust and acceptance more readily if they make contact with incumbents personally, in advance of any group meeting. Group leaders can play a role too, by introducing newcomers to incumbents electronically in advance of their attending group meetings.

Group leaders can also contribute to smooth integration of newcomers by emphasizing to incumbents what newcomers add to the group. This is especially important to any incumbents who might feel vulnerable on account of the delays in the group completing its task.

Last words

The newcomer's primary goal is gaining the trust of incumbents. Impressing incumbents by making a major contribution in short order is always possible. But Alvin would be wise to avoid behavior that creates the impression that outshining the incumbents is his primary goal. Demonstrating superior capability is not a way to gain trust.

I mentioned at the outset that I would deal with one common situation in this post. I'll explore other common situations in future posts. If you have favorite situation you would like to see explored, rbrenjTnUayrCbSnnEcYfner@ChacdcYpBKAaMJgMalFXoCanyon.comsend it along.   Next issue in this series   Top  

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Footnotes

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Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout

Coming February 12: On Substituting for a Star

Newcomers to work groups have three tasks: to meet and get to know incumbent group members; to gain their trust; and to learn about the group's task and how to contribute to accomplishing it. All can be difficult; all are made even more difficult when the newcomer is substituting for a star. Available here and by RSS on February 12.

And on February 19: Yet More Ways to Waste a Meeting

Experts have discovered that people have been complaining about meetings since the Bronze Age (3300-1200 BCE). Just kidding. But I'm probably right. As an aid to future archaeologists I offer this compilation of methods people use today to eliminate any possibility that a meeting might produce results worth the time spent. Available here and by RSS on February 19.

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