This fall, I started a new job, which means I have re-entered working in a larger organisation. It has been four years since I worked in such an environment, and I spent the last few weeks understanding the complexity that results when 500 people work together.
When I was younger, this created stress for me, but now being curious and okay with not knowing is something I enjoy.
When I start something new, I often think about the book “Turn this Ship Around” by U.S. Navy Captain David Marquet (highly recommended).
In the book, he explains how he was about to take command of a nuclear submarine, an assignment he’d spent months preparing.
At the last minute, his superiors put him in charge of a different boat, the Santa Fe. Unfortunately, this boat was not only the worst-performing sub in the fleet but also an entirely different type of craft, rendering much of the technical knowledge he’d absorbed irrelevant. This unexpected development caused him to approach his first interactions with his new sailors differently:
“Walking the ship, I would ask the crew questions about their equipment and what they were working on. They were sceptical about these questions initially. That’s because normally, I would have been “questioning,” not curious. I would have been asking questions to make sure they knew the equipment. Now I was asking questions to make sure I knew the equipment.“
My unfamiliarity with the sub’s technical details was having an interesting side effect: since I couldn’t get involved with the specifics of the gear, I opened up space to focus on the people and their interactions instead, and to rely more on the crew than I normally would.”
Marquet developed a set of questions to guide these initial conversations, and (with a few minor changes) they’re relevant for a new person in any situation:
What are the things you are hoping I don’t change?
What are the things you secretly hope I do change?
What are the good things about this organisation we should build on? (Appreciative inquiry)
If you were me, what would you do first?
Why isn’t the organisation doing better?
What are your personal goals for your time here?
What impediments do you have doing your job?
What will be our biggest challenge?
What are your biggest frustrations about how the organisation is currently run?
What is the best thing I can do for you?
I have found that asking a few of these questions when I entered a new organisation or team has taught me a lot and been extremely valuable.
Give it a try.