Quick Tip – Locate the Top Performers

Your first month in a new job – Issue #113

When you start a new job, there is so much to learn about the role, your manager, the team, and the company. One of the essential things that you need to understand is what qualifies as “great performance.”

Different companies and different managers have entirely different definitions of success. What may have passed for “exceeding expectations” in your previous job may only qualify as “meeting expectations” in your new job.

There is no single source of truth, unfortunately. Your best chance is to gather as much information as possible and look for recurring patterns.

First, meet with your manager and find out what they would most like to see you accomplish in your first 90 days, and the first six months. You should also ask what excellent performance looks like at the company for an employee in your role.

What is your manager expecting from you? Based on that information, you can start to plan out what exceeding those expectations would require.

Next, meet with your coworkers and start asking about performance expectations at the company. Who is most likely to get ahead there? What have they observed and experienced personally?

Then, ask who they think are the most talented people at the company working in your profession. As you ask more people, you should start hearing many of the same names.

Set up meetings with these top performers. Get to know them. Ask about their experiences with the company. Find out when they joined, the projects they’ve worked on, what their contributions have been, how their careers have progressed at the company, etc.

Finally, ask the top performers for their advice. For example, you could say, “I just started here a few weeks ago. What advice would you give someone like me? I want to do well here. What would you suggest that I focus on to make a meaningful contribution to the organization?”

Of course, you will hear different answers from different people. However, you should start to hear some recurring themes. Use this information to guide your efforts.

Your first few months in a new job are critical. You want to make a good impression.

Instead of working hard and hoping that you’re focused on the right things, talk with as many people as possible to uncover what excellent performance looks like at the company.