Welcome, Lisa!

This week, we welcomed Lisa to the Belbin team. She is working full-time as our Client Relationship Manager and is currently learning all she possibly can about us, what we do, and why we do it!

We can see that she is keen to make a good first impression; after all, it’s only natural.

Research shows that we can keep up appearances for 3-6 months. However, this really depends on the type, size and culture of the organisation you have joined. We’re a small team with nowhere to hide, so we are hoping that we’ll see the real Lisa really soon. However, this leads us to wonder how soon it takes for the ‘real you’ to appear? How long can you keep your best suit on? Be on your best behaviour?

It can be difficult to find your place in a new team. Sometimes we can find ourselves volunteering for everything (in an attempt to look keen/ambitious/multi-talented) or nothing (we don’t want to mess-up in front of our brand new colleagues). Either extreme isn’t going to help in the longer term.

So what advice should we be giving Lisa to help her in these first scary weeks?

Project your image

Lisa has completed the Belbin Self-Perception Inventory so we have a good idea of her Team Role strengths and weaknesses. Of course, self-reporting has limitations so we won’t fill in our Observer Assessments just yet. We’ll wait until Lisa has developed the confidence to make her mark!

Embrace work that allows you to play to your strengths.

We want Lisa to shine, and will ensure that there is plenty of communication so that she feels comfortable doing this.

Make the occasional sacrifice

Sometimes work just needs to be done. It may not fall under Lisa’s remit, and it may mean not playing to her strengths, but willingness and adaptability count for a lot. These things definitely get you noticed.

So, pressure’s off, Lisa. We’re not expecting you to be perfect, just a perfect fit for us!