Starting a new job: how to read your new team
When you start a new job, the work is often the easier part to learn. The harder part is the people: who wants a quick message and who wants a meeting, who will tell you straight and who will never quite say what they think. In your first weeks, watch and listen before you judge. The four DISC styles give you a simple way to read your new team and adapt how you communicate, so you settle in faster.
Your first two weeks: watch before you act
Most people start a new job wanting to prove themselves quickly. That is natural, but the first fortnight is best spent learning how things really work: who decides, who knows what and how people like to communicate.
- Ask your manager how they like to receive updates, questions and bad news.
- Notice how decisions get made: in meetings, in corridors or by one person.
- Read old emails and documents for tone. Are messages short and blunt, or long and friendly?
- Find out who people go to for help. That person is not always obvious from the organisation chart.
- Keep a private list of names, roles and one thing you learnt about each person.
Spotting the four styles in your new team
You do not need anyone to take a test to get a rough sense of their style. Pay attention to pace (fast and outspoken, or measured and reserved) and focus (task first, or people first).
Hold these first impressions lightly. Everyone uses all four styles, people behave differently around someone new, and a first week is a small sample. Never use a guess about someone's style to judge their ability.
- Direct: short messages, quick decisions, straight to the point in meetings. May skip the small talk entirely on your first day.
- Inspiring: the first to say hello and invite you for coffee. Tells stories, talks with their hands and seems to know everyone.
- Steady: friendly and patient, and quietly makes sure you have what you need. Asks how you are settling in, and means it.
- Careful: reserved at first, precise in writing and full of useful detail. Answers exactly the question you asked, and answers it well.
Adapting how you communicate
Small adjustments in your first month help new colleagues trust you sooner.
- With Direct colleagues: be brief, bring a suggestion along with your question, and do not take bluntness personally.
- With Inspiring colleagues: be friendly, accept the coffee and follow up anything important in writing.
- With Steady colleagues: be patient and appreciative, and ask for help. They will usually be glad to give it.
- With Careful colleagues: do your homework first, be precise and give them time to reply properly.
Your own style in a new job
Starting somewhere new brings out your own default too, and each style has its own first-month trap.
- Direct: wanting to change things before you understand why they are done that way. Ask 'why?' before you suggest 'how about…?'
- Inspiring: saying yes to everything and everyone. Agree to fewer things and follow through on all of them.
- Steady: waiting to be told and not asking enough. New people are expected to ask questions, so ask them.
- Careful: trying to understand everything before contributing anything. Share a first view early, even if it is not final.
Building relationships in the first 90 days
Relationships at work grow through small, repeated contact rather than one big introduction.
- Have a short one-to-one with each person you will work with closely. Ask what they do, what they need from your role and how they like to communicate.
- Deliver something small and useful early, and do it well.
- Say thank you, specifically and often.
- Ask your manager for feedback after a month rather than waiting for a formal review.
- Join in where you can, whether it is the Friday coffee run or the year-end function.
Know your own style before day one
The better you know your own style, the easier it is to notice when a new colleague's differs. The free DISC Test takes about ten minutes, shows your leading style at work and at home, and gives practical tips for communicating with each of the other styles. It is a useful thing to do in the week before you start.
Find your own style
Take the free 10-minute DISC test and see how you show up at work and at home.
Take the free testQuestions people ask
How do I make a good impression when starting a new job?
Listen more than you talk in the first weeks, learn how people like to communicate, deliver something small and useful early, and follow through on everything you promise.
How long does it take to settle into a new job?
Many people feel settled after about three months, though it varies. Learning how your colleagues like to work often takes longer than learning the job itself.
Should I share my DISC results with my new team?
Only if you want to. Sharing can help people understand how you like to work, but it is always your choice, and a style is never a measure of ability.
How can I tell what style my new manager is?
Watch their messages and meetings: brief and decisive suggests Direct, warm and talkative suggests Inspiring, patient and supportive suggests Steady, and precise and detailed suggests Careful. Better still, ask them how they like to work.
Read more about the Direct, Inspiring, Steady and Careful styles.
