How do you make a good first impression with your team?

Welcome to Leadership: Your questions answered. Each fortnight, experienced and award-winning leaders Helen McCabe and Jamila Rizvi respond to your workplace queries, questions and conundrums.

This week Siobhan asked: What are your tips for stepping into a new organisation and leading a team? What are the first things you do as a leader to build those important relationships and make a positive first impression?

Helen: I’ve been a new leader of a team where I didn’t have any expertise in the area they worked in. I took over the editorship of a major magazine and had never worked in magazines before. I went into the role conscious that there were going to be lots of things, from language to systems, that I’d be unfamiliar with.