How to Make an Immediate Impact

• People like certainty. Follow-through is the surest way to give them this certainty. No matter how tempting it might be to look around the corner to the next opportunity, begin by being conservative about what you are prepared to commit to and then make sure you do what you say you are going to do—on time, on budget, no surprises. This will establish your reputation.

• Claim your love of bringing order to things. So many people shy away from disorder that it will be a relief for your colleagues to learn that someone on the team likes confronting disorder.

• Speak your values. This doesn’t mean to tell everyone how honest you are—counterintuitively, the more you profess your honesty, the less people believe it to be true. It means be explicit about what you believe and what you value. Of course, your behavior is going to prove it out, but your beliefs are so much a part of who you are that talking about them will sound authentic.

• You are a truth teller. One of the first ways you’ll make an impact is by calling out what you see as inappropriate, ineffective, or even unethical behavior. The good news is that soon people will come to realize that you don’t merely parrot the party line, and over time they will trust what they hear from you. The downside, of course, is that some people will not like what you have to say, and some will feel judged by you. Especially at the start, find a way to speak your truth without offending the person on the receiving end. Call out the behavior you disagree with, rather than the person, for example, “It’s hard to have this meeting if you keep showing up late” as opposed to “You don’t care about this team, do you?”

• You have an instinctive sense of fairness, even on those occasions when your sense of fairness leads you to conclude that you don’t deserve something you’ve been given. This sort of objectivity, even when it leads to your disadvantage, is rare. There will be opportunities to showcase it. Seek them out.

• Help your colleagues find the right method for getting complex tasks done. Some people get overwhelmed and can’t think their way forward. You can show them how to break the tasks down and move ahead, step-by-step. Your methodical approach to work creates calm and reassurance in others.

• Set up the right circumstances where people around you can be accountable. This means that before the project starts or at the beginning of every week, be the one who pushes for clear goals and expectations for each team member.

• Define your area of responsibility clearly. You always function best when the boundaries of your position and others’ positions are crystal clear. If necessary, write down these boundaries and make them explicit for you and your colleagues. You’ll like this certainty and, whether they realize it or not, those around you will benefit from it.