How to Lead a Team You Inherit
When you step into a new leadership role, how you engage your inherited team sets the tone for your entire tenure. You need to move thoughtfully, not impulsively. Here’s how to get started.
Lead with curiosity, not conclusions. Biases often influence early assessments, so avoid quick judgments when assessing your new team. Instead, ask questions, listen more than you speak, and look beyond first impressions to uncover both gaps and hidden strengths.
Conduct an objective talent assessment. Ground your evaluations in data. Review past performance, survey results, and stakeholder input. This structured approach reduces bias, builds credibility, and reinforces fairness—even if you ultimately have to make tough decisions.
Invest in trust. Whether or not you plan to make changes to your team, communicate your expectations and decision-making criteria. Offer honest feedback and meaningful opportunities for people to contribute. Short-term team members, when treated with respect, can become key allies.
Weigh preservation with transformation. Don’t confuse speed with strategy. Sudden shifts in direction can erode psychological safety, damage your reputation, and cost critical institutional knowledge. Change should honor the strengths that already exist.
Balance fresh perspective with continuity. Fresh eyes are valuable—but so is experience. Before letting anyone go, ask who can evolve, who’s quietly holding things together, and who could thrive given the right support.
This tip is adapted from “5 Steps for Leading a Team You’ve Inherited,” by Marlo Lyons.
Critical decisions. Short-term survival. Long-term growth.
Are you ready to foresee risk? Seize opportunity? Steer your organization toward success? Unlock exclusive insights and strategies with HBR Executive — designed for leaders who make a difference.
Learn more:
Enjoying these management tips? Unlock unlimited access to HBR’s content with a subscription. And for a daily version of this newsletter, sign up here.
International CFO, with proven track record in implementing effective growth strategies and optimizing cashflow through operational excellence. Turnaround | Scaleup | Post acquisition integration | Big 4 audit background
4hIn my early years as a manager, I held a strong belief that the key to building successful teams laid in assembling a cohort of top performers and striving to retain them in their roles. This approach seemed logical at the time, as having high achievers on the team could boost performance and drive results. However, as I gained more experience, I came to realize that maintaining stability within the finance organization required a more nuanced perspective. I learned that it's essential to strike a balance between injecting new talent and leveraging the expertise and knowledge of existing team members. This dual approach not only helps in retaining critical institutional knowledge but also fosters an environment where innovative ideas can flourish. By combining the fresh perspectives brought in by new hires with the insights of long-standing employees, we create a dynamic team capable of tackling complex challenges effectively.
Credit Risk | Expert in Corporate Lending, Project Finance, and Portfolio Risk Governance | Banking & Renewables
1dRemarkable article. Too often, ego gets in the way and blinds people from truly understanding the essence of leadership in any scenario. Leading with humility, curiosity, and respect can make all the difference—especially when inheriting a team. Building trust is essential, and it’s a two-way path.
Reliability | Power Operations Compliance | Power Markets | Regulation | Clean Transportation
1wGreat recommendations. As the expression goes; "Don't rock the boat!" It's better to invest in understanding while building trust as one tries to determine how transformation can be grown organically within the inherited team.
Chief of Staff to Global Tech Consulting Leader @ EY | Executive coach, ICF ACC.
1wIn my coaching experience I had a couple leaders with exactly the same request - how to lead the team they inherited. The steps in the article are simple and good. Although what is missing here, and what worked well for my clients - Identify the strongest team members, or the "quiet leaders", and start relying on them more straight from the start. Establishing yourself with the new team is not an easy challenge, it takes time to build trust and loyalty.
Meta Ads for Services-Businesses | Growth campaigns | Org transformation | Media & Advertising |
2wThanks for sharing