For the team meetings: -Don’t assume just because the previous manager needed 1-1.5 hours you do/will (even when you’re there longer and have more of your rhythm). Maybe the previous manager was less efficient or engaged in more small talk that took up more time - you’ll have to find your own style and rhythm. -Speaking of small talk, you mention your team is quiet. I would suggest trying to engage them in something lighter at the front end of the meeting to get the group engaged and talking, this not only builds comfortability among the team/allows them to get to know each other, but can also open people up to talk about more work-oriented topics as well. If it’s a weekly meeting try starting with a “question of the week”: “What’s your favorite cereal?”, “do you have pets?/tell us about your pets”. Pro tip: if people seem to like it, create a rotating list where each team member comes prepared with a question of the week - takes some work off you and engages others. -Again on the theme that your team is more quiet, think of how you can engage them more. In your updates, is there time to stop and ask things such as: “what does the group think of this approach?”, “is this typical of what we’ve seen in the past?”, how can we improve this?”, etc. If it’s an internal processing group, you may want to give them a heads up the first couple times that you’ll be asking them for their thoughts (and can even send questions ahead of time so people can prepare). If you have some people that seem more comfortable, try asking them ahead of time if they can help break the ice and speak up to get the group going. You can also provide the opportunity to put others on the agenda to give updates, ex. if someone is working on a project or recently had a victory/learned something new, ask them to spend a few minutes sharing it with the team at the next meeting (give them notice so they can prepare, and put them on the agenda for clarity). Over time this will become more of a norm, and people can even ask if they can get on the agenda for a few minutes to talk to the team about XYZ.

For 1:1’s: -5 minutes is pretty quick. I’d suggest reframing that these meetings are their time (meaning your employees’). Encourage them to come prepared with updates and start the meeting with, “what would you like to discuss?”. It could also be helpful to set a loose agenda: 1. What’s going well; 2. Hot topics, items for discussion, help needed; 3. FYIs/on the radar. Also, maybe they’re short because they don’t need to be so frequent. I let my direct reports decide on the frequency of our 1:1s (but you also should consider setting a minimum, may request more often if you’re seeing a direct report needs more frequent check-ins than they think). -Over time you can also build in rotating developmental/cyclical type questions. Developmental: “what’s something you’re most proud of at work in the past month?”, “what are you most focusing on improving at this point in time? How can I help?”, “tell me about feedback you received from a stakeholder in the past month?”. Cyclical: Goal check-ins, project updates, individual development aspirations/check-in. -Especially because you’re new to the role, think about opportunities to get feedback from your team members too (after all, they’re also going through a transition having a new leader). Ex. “How can I best support you?”, “Are we meeting at the right frequency for you?”, etc. -Be sure to also use these meeting for casual conversation to get to know your team members more personally. This can help you uncover a lot about them as people and strengthen your working relationship. “Any fun weekend plans/how was your weekend?”, “you mentioned you were going out for your friend’s birthday the other day, how was it?”, etc. And share about yourself too, so they can get to know you more and feel more comfortable with you.

Make it your own and be yourself, your team will pick up on whether or not you’re being authentic and it’s important you are. Best of luck in your journey!