What to do when you are a 1-person team?
Hire more people, just kidding.
Being the 1st one on-board is exciting as well as intense. If you are in a role where you are juggling between strategy discussions, ideating projects, working on said projects, presenting these alongside managing stakeholders & thinking what’s next, this article is for you.
Here are a few tips to help you thrive in what seems like an overwhelming job.
Ask for direction.
They hired you but that doesn’t mean you have to know everything. Most definitely not how to read minds.
Ask your manager: what gap are they looking to fill with this role? What do they want to achieve? What business ideas or questions have they been mentally toying with since they began hiring for this role? And if your manager doesn’t have the answers, ask him to point you to who does.
These kind of questions will help you to distill and make early decisions on where to focus.
Choose a champion (project or cause).
There may be several items on your backlog, perhaps, growing long before you joined. Before diving on the deeper end to start completing things from this list, set a goal to fulfill an important medium-term project — something that was not doable before you stepped in, something that you can present as an achievement.
This will become your first medal to build self confidence & credibility in your new role.
Clarify your role.
Are you the one resposible for prioritizing your backlog or is this to be done in collaboration with others? Are you expected to make decisions on high importance items? Are you expected to build bridges with distant teams in the organization?
Begin with your manager — they may not have all the answers and that’s okay. Your questions will make them think where they haven’t and, perhaps, allow you to carve an answer that works for you.
Learn fast.
Experiment and, if you fail, you’ll have learnt fast. Don’t hesitate for fear of not doing things right.
No one in your organization expects you to be perfect. They already have what they need — someone dedicated to thinking & working on your part of the job, you. Don’t get inhibited by what you don’t know.
Be brave, ideate, try different things, try these fast and grow yourself alongside the organization.
Done imperfectly is better than not done at all.
And somethings are only learnt from experience.
Get an early win to cement your position.
Following from point 2, work towards the goal that you set for yourself. Discuss with stakeholders.
Communicate said goal while setting realistic expectations (as a best practice, overestimate the required time — allow buffer time for contingencies).
This will keep you accountable. Again, this early win will boost your confidence in your job, show potential to others and build credibility.
Ask for help.
Be okay with not knowing what or how to do certain tasks at your organization.
At times, it isn’t that you have no clue but simply require guidance on how xyz is done at this organization. And, maybe, you are only trying to do the best you can by asking.
You won’t seem dumb for asking — so don’t let that stop you from seeking help. If anything, you’ll seem invested in doing a good job because you cared enough to ask.
Hold review sessions. Ask for feedback — regularly & often.
This, of course, differes depending on the feedback culture of your organization. Irrespective of it, if you find yourself wondering if you are doing a good job and, especially, if you’re feeling that you aren’t — ask for feedback. Ask your manager, peers, stakeholders.
In some cultures, feedback is only given during annual performance reviews or when things go really wrong. Other times, people are simply too busy. So, ask proactively — request feedback on what needs improvement but also what went well. Both are important for your self validation on the job.
Manage upwards.
Give feedback to your managers/stakeholders in joint retrospective sessions (scrum rhythm) or in 1:1s.
It may feel intimidating to tell others what to do, especially, those senior to you. Remember, they are new at working with you too & they want this to work well. So, tell them what you think might work better, what you want to try doing — support it with good reasoning. And, if you do not get an immediate response, you will at least have planted the seed for it.
Have fun.
Set aside time for fun — simply put, this is the time in your schedule/sprint that you are not available for doing the regular chores.
In this time, plan social 1:1s with your peers in others teams or a colleague who you are curious about. Reach out on your internal-messaging-service (Slack, Teams, Yammer, etc.), say that you want to catch up over coffee/tea to get to know them better.
Building a social network in your organization will help keep your sanity when you occassionally need a distraction from the people you constantly work with.
Take initiative.
Once you attain a certain degree of comfort in your role, with your peers, take initiative to work on areas that haven’t been assigned to you but where you see potential to make a change. You don’t have to wait for someone else to identify where you can make a difference. Enlist yourself to the areas that seem appealing to you.
Many of the above points can be gone about in a different order. Depending on your nature — introvert, extrovert or anything in between — perhaps, you find it better to socialize first and then challenge your stakeholders, for instance. So, build your adventure with these markers in mind.
And, remember to learn along the way. Remember — we are more critical of ourselves than others are of us. Taking it easy is not a crime. Set expectations on deliverables sustainably. Don’t burn yourself out. Your job is a marathon, not a sprint.
In the process, you are building your own unique brand in the organization and so, don’t feel afraid if you don’t find people who have done what you are trying to do.
Be prepared to teach others on how to work with you. Keep your confidence level strong. When you find it dwindling, maintain a list of achievements, big & small, to remind yourself of things you have done well. And, if this isn’t enough, have a chat with your befriended colleagues in the organization — they’ll help you get out of your rut. After all, sometimes all we need is a different perspective.
You are doing a great job. Cheers.
