Surviving Your First Coffee With a New Team Member

I was sitting in a coffee shop in Denver this week and could not help overhearing what appeared to be a “get to know you” coffee between a new manager/team member. The manager is clearly using the “Let’s grab some coffee” approach to lower the guard of their new team member.

Repeatedly, I heard the manager state how amazing a job the other was doing within the company, and they were excited to have them transitioning to their team.

The new team member was explaining that they had built this project from the ground up and felt it was their “baby”. While they never said it, it was clear that the new team member did not wish to be “managed”.

Clearly, this first coffee was a bit tense.

It was fascinating to listen to the exchange. The manager desperately wanted to put them at ease, and the…