2 Questions To Ask When Working With New People
The one constant in the workplace is that you will always be working with new people – whether you like it or not.
We seem to always be out of control when it comes to business. Clients change, books of business change, coworkers leave the business, new people get promoted into management, jobs will change, bosses leave, and organizational re-structures occur.
Just when you’re getting comfortable navigating the personality dynamics (for better or for worse) with your manager/team/clients, the inevitable will happen and you will have to learn how to work with an entirely different set of personalities and work styles.
While it may be intimidating and exhausting to deal with personnel change all the time, it doesn’t have to set you back. In fact, it can be an opportune time to set yourself apart and create positive working relationships moving forward.
When it comes to working with new people, there are two conversations I challenge myself and my clients to have within the first couple of months working together. I will provide specific prompts to help you ask the right questions to ensure you are creating a productive working relationship. Let’s get into it.
The first question to ask when working with someone new,
“How can I best support you?”
This question is rooted in curiosity. By asking ‘how can I best support you?’ you are accomplishing two things. First, you are communicating that you are there to help – not hurt. This goes a long way in corporate when business can be a ruthless environment. When you start off a new relationship by asking ‘how can support you’, it positions yourself as an asset to the other team members, as opposed to a hindrance.
Second, when you ask the question ‘how can I best support you’, it gives you a chance to listen and learn about things that might surprise you. It positions you as a helpful counterpart and you’d be surprised at the tea coworkers and clients are willing to drop when you simply just ask.
And bonus, if you ever need help from that individual or you need to ask them a million questions, it’ll lessen the annoyance because you have already positioned yourself as someone who can be helpful for them too.
A simple question such as, ‘How can I best support you?’, creates trust and allows you to be a confidant to your new colleague.
The next question,
2) “Who else on the team would be a good person for me to meet with and learn from?”
This is such an underrated question to help you build your networking skills within the organization!! When you are new to a team or when someone new joins your team, this is your opportunity to expand your network (aka people who can help YOU in the future).
Work requires a lot of cross collaboration these days. It’s hard to get our job done without the help of others. That email you’re waiting on? The approval you need? Those ideas from marketing? That all requires collaboration and building a relationship with people outside your immediate team.
Plus, if you are junior in your role, you will likely need to rely on more tenured individuals to help you get the job done. Embrace it!!
If you find yourself on a new team or within a new organization, simply ask your manager “who else on the team would be a good person for me to meet with and learn from?”
These two simple, yet impactful, questions will be the start to helping you become a more effective communicator in the workplace. Because if you don’t ask (and you don’t listen), you won’t ever know!
