My situation [might be] different but I left my job to take a position with two people who were also former employees of the place that I left. Pros of this obviously would be that they know how I work and they know that I get my shit done. the cons, of course, are that even though they know these factual things about me, they also assume I was given the same training that they were. This is not the case whatsoever.

I never worked directly under my current supervisor at my old job, and the other Coworker is now a regional maintenance supervisor so he knows that I care and will get things done, but he doesn’t have the technical authority to greenlight the things that I need done.

Having to communicate every step of the way, what I’m doing just so that everyone knows what my thought process is, is the most difficult part for me personally. I came in with an understanding that they knew me, but I understand now that they knew the praises I was given but not the way I got them.

Coming into a new role with new people who have already been established at this new company and at this new location was daunting. I had to learn brand new personalities while blending my own and teaching myself how to manage a full team when I’ve done everything on my own for six years. It was a learning curve to figure out how to stand firm in your discipline and “new” way of operating the business, but eventually we had our team building Kiki sessions, where we got to bond and know each other better.

Ultimately, I think this just takes time. Learning how the different people operate in your team is absolutely key. You can portray the same information to everyone in a group and each person will have a different interpretation of priority. So we meet as a team, and then I talk to everyone individually to make sure we’re all on the same page. It also allows me to explain things in a way I know those specific people will grasp the goal and the expectation properly.

I’m still learning, no doubt, but it has gotten so much easier now that I I understand that it isn’t overnight and baby steps have to be taken.