8:45 am. My heart is beating fast, my tie is not straight, the shirt is already wet, I am in front of the entrance. It is a big CHANGE ahead, a new company, a new position, new colleagues, new order. I am prepared to acknowledge change, I am open to new things, I WANT to embrace a new world. I am READY.
This monologue grows inside every new joiner. They all have their fears, joy, excitement, wish for the next workplace to be the best workplace. And this is why they are open for changes, many changes. They are like a picnic blanket where you start adding a cake, a sandwich, a brezel, or you may also spoil it with wine, mustard or ketchup.
After working with various teams and experiencing on my own, I came to understand that the onboarding period is the best time to change people's mindset. As a Scrum Master / Agile Coach, this is one of the key aspects of my work, where i am focused on changing the mindset, sometimes this being a very challenging task.
We often do not realize how easy it is to shape people's mindset at the beginning, when they are open for all the changes, willing to try out new things and embrace the new order.
This is why I start onboarding with the Agile part, before business, design and development. I begin with the Manifesto and move to the principles, reflecting them into our organization. I move afterwards to the existing methodology/framework and make sure I trigger curiosity.
I share our last Retrospective Items and build trust and respect. At the end of the first week I gain more than just a new employee, I gain a friend to our Agile family...
Photo by Shumilov Ludmila on Unsplash