You Just Took Over a New Team — Don’t Assume They’re Doing Everything Wrong

Stepping into a new leadership role is a pivotal moment in any professional’s career. Whether you’ve been promoted internally, transferred to a different department, or hired from the outside, one of the most critical mistakes you can make is walking in the door assuming everything is broken.

Yet, it happens all the time.

Too many new leaders – especially those eager to prove themselves – charge in with the unspoken belief: “Now that I’m here, I’ll fix this.” They overlook the most vital tool they have in their early days: listening.

In this article, we’ll explore why assuming the worst is one of the costliest mistakes a new leader can make, and how adopting a mindset of humility, curiosity, and active listening builds trust, uncovers insights, and sets the foundation for meaningful leadership.

The Arrogance Trap: How Good Intentions Go Wrong

It’s common for new leaders to feel pressure to make an impact quickly. Often, they’re brought in because something needs to change. But this doesn’t mean the current team is incompetent — or that their systems are entirely flawed.

“Leaders who come in with a fixer mindset tend to alienate teams, disrupt functioning systems, and miss valuable institutional knowledge.”
— Michael D. Watkins, author of The First 90 Days (source)

Case Study: The New VP Who Lost the Room

At a mid-sized SaaS company, a new VP of Marketing was brought in to “shake things up” after two flat quarters. Within her first week, she scrapped the team’s campaign roadmap, dismissed ongoing projects, and declared a full “rebrand” was necessary.

She didn’t ask why certain strategies were in place, nor did she consult the people who had spent years building the brand.

By month two, the team was disengaged. Two senior managers resigned. It took six months to regain trust, and even longer to repair the pipeline the team had been steadily building.

This isn’t uncommon. A McKinsey report found that 69% of organizational transformation efforts fail due to employee resistance and poor management behaviors — not poor strategies (source).

Why Listening is a Leadership Superpower

Truly effective leaders resist the urge to immediately “fix” and instead commit to listening deeply in their first 30-90 days. Here’s why:

1. Listening Builds Trust

Your new team is watching closely. If you come in with sweeping criticisms or changes, you signal that you don’t value their experience or insight. Listening communicates respect — and respect is the first building block of trust.

2. You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know

Assumptions are shortcuts — and dangerous ones. Even if a team’s output seems subpar on the surface, there may be hidden constraints or legacy decisions that explain why things are the way they are. Listening helps uncover context.

3. You’ll Discover Hidden Talent

When you create space for people to speak openly, you often find untapped potential — those who’ve had ideas but were never empowered to share. Great leaders amplify these voices.

Practical Steps for New Leaders

To lead effectively from day one, consider the following principles:

A. Run a Listening Tour

Schedule one-on-one meetings with team members and stakeholders. Ask open-ended questions like:

• “What’s working well here?”

• “What do you wish leadership better understood?”

• “If you had a magic wand, what’s one thing you would change?”

B. Map the Informal Networks

Not all influence follows the org chart. Pay attention to who people go to for advice, help, or informal approvals. These are the culture carriers — and they’re invaluable.

C. Avoid Diagnosing Too Quickly

Suspend judgment. Capture themes, but don’t leap to conclusions. Your goal in the first month is not to fix — it’s to learn.

“When you’re new, you don’t have the right to change things yet. You have the obligation to understand them first.”
— Ed Catmull, co-founder of Pixar, in Creativity, Inc. (source)

Final Thoughts: Humility Over Hubris

Leaders are often hired for their experience. But experience without humility becomes arrogance.

Yes, you bring a fresh perspective. Yes, change may be needed. But assuming everyone before you was wrong isn’t leadership — it’s ego.

True leadership starts with listening, observing, and understanding the people and systems you now lead. Only then can you make decisions that are informed, respectful, and ultimately effective.

Your presence alone won’t change the culture. Your ability to listen, learn, and lead with humility will.

Further Reading & Resources

• The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins – Harvard Business Review

• Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull – Goodreads Summary

• Why Leadership Fails: The McKinsey Report on Transformation – McKinsey & Company

• Leadership That Gets Results by Daniel Goleman – Harvard Business Review

Next Steps for You

• Reflect on your own leadership transitions. Did you come in assuming things were broken?

• Practice listening in your current role — even if you’ve been there a while.

• Share this post with a new manager who might benefit from it.