Onboarding is a delicate dance where first impressions translate into lasting perspectives in a matter of days. The time sensitive criticality of this short fuse is hard to overstate because of the long term implications it has on both sides of the relationship. New teammates can capitalize by doing two things better than anything else in their introductory period - continue revealing more details of the story that captured the attention of the recruiter and build trust through concerted actions.

The inevitable challenge; an invitation to take the topic of discussion directly inward, focusing on highlighting past achievements without sounding pretentious. Sculpting the message around the audience is crucial. What is known already? Which data will help paint the desired image in their imagination? Successful onboarding requires more listening than speaking, but this pitch carries significant weight in the minds of your stakeholders.

A powerful format to articulate past experiences follows: we achieved X by doing Y, as measured by Z (e.g. we achieved ramp-up on a profitable, steady-state production line by eliminating non-value added process steps as measured by a 12% reduction in tact time).

Innovation requires tight coordination where credible actors (teammates) move at the speed of trust. This means close alignment between individuals working toward a shared vision. Let’s quickly zoom past the buzzwords and double click on core concept - what is the most efficient tact to take when building a bridge to a new team? What is the fastest way to successfully grow my social influence in the organization?

My $0.10 is the fastest path to gaining trust of a new team is twofold, where both sides of the coin are critical. Authenticity means what you see is what you get; false fronts and façades are absent from a strong leader’s repertoire. The authentic leader understands their strengths and weaknesses and seeks to fill knowledge gaps by highlighting the expertise of teammates and delegating where ever possible. Accountability means doing what you say you’re going to do; easy on paper, difficult in practice. Beware of the doom loop of taking on too much responsibility from the jump as this could lead to an ever-deepening hole you are unable to dig out from.

Trust takes time, there is no way around it. But when that time is filled with the newcomer building an authentic picture of themselves and being accountable for doing what they say they will do, the bridge to moving at the speed of trust becomes smoother and shorter.

We live in a software-defined age where innovations come with each new code push. Innovating at this speed requires teams to move faster than ever, minimizing the appetite for slow onboarding processes and delayed value-add from new hires. What got you here won’t get you there; there is a bridge to be built by crafting your story to build social influence and consistently acting with authenticity and accountability.

Does this Reverberate with you?