Communication in a new role

A common hurdle when starting a new role is navigating the first few months. It’s a challenge to jump on the learning curve to figure out how things work, what is expected of you, how to engage with your new team and decipher the communication styles of your new colleagues, leaders and customers.

To help technical team leaders and team members smooth out the expected bumps during this transitional period, we developed our Flying Start programme. Jarrod was the first new employee to work through our programme. Here’s what he had to say about his experience.

The problem

I was beginning a new role which is always a challenging and turbulent period to navigate. So I engaged with Wires Uncrossed to give me the best opportunity to succeed in this new environment.

When I first started the Flying Start programme I expected some support and a second opinion around the new role and the challenges I could see in front of me to set myself up for a successful start. Looking back, I was a bit naive to think three months was all I would need to reach success and feel settled in my role. I was still in the honeymoon period and couldn’t do much wrong - it wasn’t until six weeks into the role that things really started to get thrown at me and the pressure ramped up. So as it worked out, the timing of one session every six weeks with Wires Uncrossed was ideal.

Normally, I’m quite good at reflecting on things as they happen. But when I’m in the thick of it and things are coming at me from all sides, it’s hard to take that step back and figure out my north star. Regular catch ups with Cherry, my Wires Uncrossed coach, gave me an opportunity to reflect with someone else who was independent and really understood my challenge. It helped me to get a different perspective.

The approach

Our first session was simply a meet and greet that helped us to define goals and get on the same page, alongside a profiling assessment and the development of a three month plan. We then caught up every six weeks to reflect on my objectives and track my progress, using simple tools to improve communication and smooth my transition from ‘the new guy’ to ‘workmate’.

When you’re working with communication specialists, frameworks can feel a bit ‘cookie cutter’ and not with the client’s best interests at heart. That’s why I really enjoyed the little exercises, metaphors and analogies Cherry used away from the work environment. It made the concepts land and connect with me on a personal level.

The outcome

From my experience with Wires Uncrossed, my confidence as a leader has improved and I can now use the tools and frameworks I learned from Cherry with much more conviction. I often draw on them when talking with my team about how they can be successful and navigate the challenges that come when working with others.