3 Stages to Getting Along With Your New Boss

You’ve just learned that you are getting a new boss, and the panic starts to set in. Just when you feel satisfied that you have finally cemented the relationship with your old boss, you have to start the process again to adjust to a new one. There is no reason to panic! Take the time to learn about your new boss, and with the popularity and prevalence of social media networking, it is quite easy to gather intelligence on anyone who has an online presence. More than likely, you will have the name of your new boss before she starts the job at your organization, so finding information on her is easy. The information you gather, will set the stage for getting along with your new boss.

Research

If your new boss is senior enough, the organization will do a press release to announce the hiring, so read the press release. Talk to people whom you trust in the company, who have access to the company’s grapevine, to learn about the new boss. The second step is to do a search on Google, where you will find all her social media profiles and any news about her. Set aside time to go through the search results on the first and second page, and write down any interesting information that you uncover.

Spend a fair amount of time on her social media profiles, reading her status updates to get a sense of the complete person. While on LinkedIn, check to see if any of your close connections are connected to your new boss, then reach out to them to learn about their experiences with her. Also look to see what awards she won and the causes that she is passionate about.

Analyze

Read through all the information that you have collected about your new boss and make sure that you synthesize them. Use the synthesized notes to create a picture of this new person you will be working with. More than likely, when your new boss starts on the job, she will want to interview her direct reports, so use the intelligence you gathered to prepare for the interview. This could mean preparing questions to ask her to fill out the gaps in your data gathering. On top of that, keep in mind that the new boss is also the ‘new kid on the block,’ so take the time to think about how you can bring her up to speed on the department. You want to do the unexpected when you meet the boss, so when you are thinking of ways to be of service to her, list three important things that others are likely to forget to mention to her.

Take Action

During the interview with the new boss, remember that it is a conversation where both of you are learning about each other, so ask her the questions that you prepared. Bring her up to speed on the department, she will appreciate it because the first month on the job is filled with learning, so find ways to make it easier for her. Even if there are difficulties in the department, maintain a positive attitude at all times, so you are perceived as a team player. Find out what she wants to accomplish during her first 90 days on the job, and how you can support her. The first 90 days on the job is critical to a new hire, so when you know what the new boss wants to accomplish, find a way to make sure that she gets what she needs. You will be building goodwill in her eyes, and be perceived as a valuable resource. And one final point, which is often overlooked is to find out how she wants to be communicated to, and how often.

Getting a new boss can be challenging, but if you prepare for the transition, you can make it work for you so that it’s easier to adjust to the new one, as well get along with her. And by knowing what is important to her, you can work toward assisting her to achieve the goals that are important to her.

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