Leaders meet people where they are…

Taking over a new team is one of the most exciting—and challenging—moments in a leader’s career. You inherit personalities, skill sets, ambitions, frustrations, and habits you didn’t shape but now must lead. In these early days, it can be tempting to move quickly, make changes, and prove your value. But leadership starts with people, not processes. 

Carl’s Rule #7 – “Leaders meet people where they are and show them how to get where they want to go.” That means your first responsibility is to understand each team member as an individual before you start charting the course forward.

The process begins with intentional listening. Start with a one-on-one conversation—not a performance review, but a genuine dialogue with each individual about who they are, what they do best, where they want to grow, and what’s making their job harder than it should be. This is your chance to see the person instead of the placeholder on the org chart. Be curious and watch them in action. How they work with the rest of the team and how they individually respond to challenges.

After taking the time to learn, your job is to determine how the pieces on your team work together and then help each member improve to help the team win. When you share the vision with the team as a whole, you frame the destination; when you speak to each person individually, you show them their unique path to getting there.

Legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden once said, “A coach is someone who can give correction without causing resentment.” Your success begins the moment you choose to meet people where they are and commit to helping them get where they want to be.