The Key to Working with a New Manager

The right approach will set both of you up for success

August 5, 2025

It’s an evitable part of professional life: the new boss. A leadership change can really shake things up and having that element of uncertainty at work can be very stressful. When a new manager steps in, it’s natural to feel anxious. You’ll wonder how much will change, how they’ll lead, or what changes they will bring to your team and to your day-to-day work. How you choose to engage with a new manager can shape your success just as much as theirs.

There’s a lot to navigate in this scenario, whether you’re the established team member welcoming a new leader, or the one moving to a new team/new manager situation. In both cases, you have the chance to build trust, demonstrate maturity, and create a working relationship that benefits everyone.

When a New Manager Joins Your Established Team

The vacancy for your manager’s job has finally been filled. You may be experiencing a range of emotions. It’s possible that you are relieved that you finally have someone to ask for help and guidance. You no longer have to seek out the interim manager or your manager’s boss who were so busy with their primary job that they didn’t have time for you. You’re likely feeling anxious about the what the new manager will bring and if you’ll get along with them.

One approach could be to just keep your head down and watch how things unfold. But this passive approach might not be ideal in this situation. Put yourself in the shoes of your new boss. New managers, especially those coming from outside the organization, are under pressure to perform and “prove” themselves. You can put yourself in a good position to help your new manager succeed. And if they succeed, you succeed. Here are some ideas to facilitate a smooth transition proactively.

1. Give Them Context…Early and Often

Have you ever picked up a new book and started in the middle instead of page one? That’s probably what it feels like for your new manager onboarding with a team that has been working together for a while. You’ll help your manager out by taking the initiative to share details of your work early on. In your first 1:1 meeting, be ready to discuss:

Your current role, responsibilities and top priorities for the coming months
Your important stakeholders and other collaborators
Your current challenges or pain points

Go into the first meeting with the assumption that your new manager is still forming the full picture of what you and your team does and how it operates. They likely have the view of their own boss, and some of their peers, but they will benefit greatly from your perspective. You’ll be able to accelerate their onboarding by filling in some of the gaps.

2. Surface the Silent Questions

Your new managers might be reluctant to ask everything they’re wondering about. Sometimes they don’t want to appear uninformed, they don’t want to repeat a question, or they’re trying to resolve seemingly conflicting information. Watch for signals of hesitation or confusion. They may wonder about why a process is performed in a particular way, what is the historical context behind a decision or who are the key players in a project or task.

You can put your manager at ease by asking these questions yourself, or repeating something important you may have already communicated. You can start with lead-ins like, “you may be wondering about why we do it this way?” or “it might be helpful to let you know that we tried it a different way before and here’s what happened” or “you might already be aware, but there are a few other department heads who have been closely involved in this work.”

You’re not telling them what to do. You’re arming them with context while putting them at ease by preempting a question you think they have.

3. Help Them to an Early Win

A new manager generally comes into a new role wanting to prove that they were the right person for the job. One way to do that is to show an early victory to demonstrate an impact. You can help your manager build momentum by sharing ideas that could demonstrate an early success: Think about projects you are working that fit one of these categories:

A process improvement that does not require significant investment
A project that is nearly completed and needs a management push
A decision that is pending but requires a new perspective
A recognition for someone on the team

Any of these could provide an early success for new manager. Your suggestion could help build your trust and credibility.

When You’re New to a Team (and therefore the Manager is also new to you)

If you are the one who is making a move to a new team and new manager, you will be the one who is changing the team dynamic and the manager-employee relationships. You’ll want to integrate quickly, building strong relationships with your teammates and your boss.

1. Accelerate Your Introduction

Make it easy for your new manager to get to know you. Your early 1:1 meetings will be important for your manager to learn about:

Your background and why you’re excited to be in the new role
How you have worked well with your previous managers
What are your top priorities
Your early questions and observations about upcoming deadlines and deliverables

You’ll want to demonstrate your self-awareness and show how you value the manager-employee relationship.

2. Show How You Want to Be Part of the Team

Managers appreciate when their team members are focused on not only their own responsibilities, but also the work of the larger team. Managers like when new employees are aware of how their own work impacts others and when they are willing to share and work well with their teammates.

When you ask about the broader team priorities and objectives and ask about ways that you can ensure the team is successful, your manager’s confidence in you will grow. You’ll demonstrate that you are aligned with the bigger picture and are willing to achieve not only your individual performance objectives, but also the goals of the whole team.

3. Stay Curious and Open-Minded

Joining a new team means likely doing things differently than you have in the past. Every team has its own norms and processes, and you’ll likely notice things you believe should be done differently. Before you start criticizing and offering up quick ideas for changes, try to find out more.

Ask about some of the history behind the team’s methods and decisions. Take a posture of learning and understanding context before you jump into suggestions for improvements. You’ll build trust by having a deeper understanding of why the team operates the way it does, rather than creating the perception of being an uninformed new person who jumps to premature conclusions.

Call to Action: New Manager Checklist

It’s easy to dismiss an opportunity to help a new manager. You probably already have enough workload without taking on additional work to try to make their life easier. But it’s important to think about why you’d take the time and effort to do it.

If your manager is successful, you will be too.

When a manager has the right information, strong support from their direct reports, and some early wins, they make better decisions, advocate for their team more effectively, and create an overall positive team environment.

A manager who can count on you will start to trust you and will become more confident in you. This may lead to more opportunities for you, such as more important projects, greater visibility, or enhanced recognition.

Transitions are tricky for both managers and team members. Here are the keys to turning a potentially uncertain and ambiguous situation into a strong foundation for future opportunities: