New colleagues are not always welcomed with open arms.
Some team members don’t feel they had enough input about the addition, while others dread the changes or differences the new colleague will usher in.
For teams with a strong culture and close-knit relationships, new colleagues represent a perceived threat that might upset the delicate balance of roles, responsibilities, and expertise that currently exists.
In some cases, the newcomer may be viewed as “competition” for promotions, resources, and opportunities.
Once one or more team members decide to reject or resist the new colleague, the team dynamic can experience a significant and negative change.
It is not uncommon for the newcomer to be disrespected, excluded, or ignored either openly or more subtly. This makes meetings and exchanges involving the new colleague awkward at best and hostile at worst.
When the team body rejects the organ, as the expression goes, it is not lost on everyone involved, especially the new colleague.
Even if the assault is expressed under the radar, the newcomer clearly feels it when one or more team members repeatedly send the message that they are not welcome. This naturally makes them tentative, suspicious, and concerned. Did they make a bad choice by joining this team? Why are people being so rude and unfriendly?
Common advice is for the newcomer to focus on their work, build relationships one colleague at a time, be patient with their acceptance, and seek feedback so they can learn how to fit in.
That’s reasonable counsel but focused on the wrong party. The problem lies with the team, not the new colleague.
The team leader plays a crucial role in encouraging the new colleague’s acceptance within the team as well as holding existing team members to a standard of professional conduct.
Rejecting a new colleague because of incompetence or competing values is one thing. But resisting them by acting in self-interest is an entirely different matter.
Good leaders lay out their clear expectations for integrating and acclimating any new colleague. They personally sit down with each team member and explain the value the new colleague can bring to the team, as well as their role in facilitating those benefits.
To avoid having some team members ignore the new colleague, they often assign projects and tasks that require team members to interact and achieve outcomes with the new colleague. They make sure the newcomer is never excluded from any meeting, email chain, or conversation they should be a part of.
Leaders who sit back and watch the resistance unfold, thinking that the conflict will work itself out, are derelict in their responsibility. They must take an active role in the acceptance of the new colleague the moment they learn that the welcome mat has been stolen. They must demand that any negative energy be directed toward them, as their advocacy for the new colleague will remain no matter how much people snipe, complain, or misbehave.
Teams will sometimes give themselves permission to behave unprofessionally toward a new colleague if they think the leader will stand for it. Your job is never to stand for it.
