Advice From Your Peers – 6 Tips to Acclimate to A New Role

There’s no doubt that starting a new role, whether in the same company or a new one, can be stressful. Between learning the culture of the organization and remembering all the new names, your first few weeks can be overwhelming. Half the battle is learning the inner workings of your new teammates – so how do you manage this?

To find out how CPAs deal with this life change, we put out a call for responses on AICPA social media channels; here’s the advice we heard.

David Pope, CPA, CGMA

“Learn the personalities and the culture of the team. Watch for cues about the motivational drivers for each member and develop an understanding of what you can expect from each. This will help you to integrate quickly and to know when to push and when to back away.”

Robin M. Rudisill, CPA

“Be open to – or ask for – criticism and correction. Each organization has their own unique quirks and personalities. The only way to learn that is by allowing the team members to correct you when projects are done incorrectly.”

Mark Sisk, CPA

“Be humble. That one virtue will engender trust in the group and broaden your perspective through the eyes of others. Genuinely putting the needs of others ahead of your own interests (altruistic egoism) exudes confidence and acts as lubricant to helping teams run smoothly.”

Cynthia Bolt, CPA

“Be open to sitting back and listening for the first few meetings. Ask questions for clarification. Take lots of notes and see if you can gain insight on the team’s prior initiatives.”

Bernard Cookson, CPA

“Introduce yourself to the team and to the team members individually. Trust is built on relationships and team members must trust that their fellow participants can contribute to the team effort.”

Brandon Gallite, CPA

“Discover each person’s biases: Whether it is trust, open mindedness, quantitative prowess, written or verbal communication skills, everyone is different. Recognizing each person’s biases can enable a group of people to become the synergistic thing we call a “team.”

What would you include in your to-do list when joining a new team?

Liz Rock, Associate Manager–Enterprise Social Media, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants

Handshake courtesy of Shutterstock.

Advice From Your Peers – 6 Tips to Acclimate to A New Role

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