Have you ever struggled on how to introduce yourself to a new team on a new project? I bet you have. That is why today we’re gonna talk about the ways on how to efficiently and professionally introduce yourself to a new team and how to build a soil for setting up professional relationships from day one.
Prepare the speech
Step number one: what you definitely want to do in advance is to prepare your speech. I mean your introduction speech. Obviously, it is not gonna last forever just maybe under one minute, however, you need to know in advance what exactly you’re going to tell to people. This is something that
helps you give the very first impression about yourself and to set you up as a leader. That is why it is extremely important from day one to make it completely transparent: what is your approach; what are your methods; what mythology you are going to use; and what the team should be prepared for.
Also, you would want to include some personal information like hobbies, or sports that you like; or what are you usually doing in your spare time; how do you spend your weekends, and etc. Definitely this is something personal, but you don’t want to be distant from your team. You want to show them that you are a person too. What is more, maybe you will find some common touch points. Perhaps you like the same football team; or you’re visiting the same gym on weekends, who knows.
Create an opportunity
Tip number two: what you need to do is to create an opportunity. Sometimes this could be a random chance to introduce yourself to the new team, but usually this is either a kickoff meeting on a project, or you are being introduced on purpose if you are entering the already active project. At any case, what I would recommend is either to introduce yourself in the very beginning of the kickoff meeting; or to arrange a special meeting, create an occasion to get a chance to introduce yourself officially. Potentially, to set up an individual meeting for about 5-15 minutes long to introduce yourself; to meet the team and to get to know each other.
Introduce yourself by yourself
Tip number three: time to introduce yourself. My recommendation here is to introduce yourself by yourself rather than asking someone to introduce you to the team.
Firstly, you are a grown-up person, you’re a professional and you are capable to do this yourself. Secondly, it helps to eliminate some sort of possible distance between you and the team; and helps to start building mutual connection instantly.
During the introduction make sure to use the speech that you have prepared in advance. Keep it under one minute long so that you are not giving a long story about yourself and about your achievements; but you are giving a grasp, an idea of who you are; what have you achieved; and what are you capable to do.
As we are keeping our intro not really long. what I would recommend additionally is on the top of the information that you are sharing instantly, to share some resources where people can get more details about you. This could be your website, or some social media like your LinkedIn profile, or maybe you have a youtube channel… If you can give these details, links and resources to your team it would be even more beneficial for you.
This will give a chance for people to get to know you better during their spare time and potentially to come up with some ideas on how can they efficiently collaborate with you.
Next tip relates to direct collaboration with people. Obviously, leading them being like a distant star is not an efficient way. No one wants a leader who puts him or herself above everyone else. A leader is someone who is picked by others. That is why it is extremely important to start building your professional relationships from day one.
Ask to introduce back
Next tip relates to direct collaboration with people. Obviously, leading them being like a distant star is not an efficient way. No one wants a leader who puts him or herself above everyone else. A leader is someone who is picked by others. That is why it is extremely important to start building your professional relationships from day one.
Within this tip suggest asking people to introduce themselves back. This would work if the team is relatively small, let’s say under five people. Otherwise, it could be really-really long and could lead to inefficient time loss. If the team is not big I would recommend to inform them in advance that you are going to ask them about the introduction not to confuse them during the meeting.
Either there is a chance for people to introduce themselves or not, what you would want to do is to let them know you are going to meet everyone in person. Everyone brings their valuable input to deliver a project and you should always remember that. Thus, a good move would be to let people know you’re going to meet everyone in person and you’re going to share the
schedule for the upcoming one-on-one meetings. That will give a chance to get on the same wave with them.
Follow up
Hear my advice is to follow up with everyone after this introduction. Potentially the best way would be to send an email to everybody from your team. What are you going to tell them is that you are really excited about joining this amazing team; you’re looking forward to the upcoming goals and achievements that you will be able to hit together.
What is more, I would advise including some professional tips or links in your email so that people would get even more value out of the first meeting with you. This could be links to professional articles, blogs, or channels – anything that you feel would work beneficially for the people and would bring them value.
What is not less important is to include the one-on-one meetings information or schedule if you already have it. It will give people a chance to understand when they should expect the meetings; to get prepared for them; and to put the events in their schedule.
Be a leader
Now you know my formula for the efficient and professional introduction to the new team, as well as steps to start building your strong professional relationships with them. I want you to remember that projects are delivered by people and you’re going to work with people. You’re going to be surrounded by people and you definitely don’t want to be just a manager but you want to be a leader.
A leader is someone who is chosen by people, so you want the team to choose you as a leader. Start building your professional relationships from day one. You need to invest in people, invest in your team to show that you value them and you want to be a part of this team.