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Welcome back to a short 3-part series on everyone’s favorite topic... reorgs! In our last post, we focused on what to look for when a reorg has resulted in you taking over a new area or department, as well as how to effectively set the tone and move forward.

In a reorg, the leader shifting roles and the individuals on the ground get thought about a lot. How should we communicate this? How will people feel about these changes? What is the leader at the top-level of this reorg looking for? Frequently, however, middle management gets overlooked. Here, I’ll define middle management as any manager in between the top-level individual taking over new teams/groups and the individual contributors. These managers are often given information in a haphazard way, when plans, goals, and timelines are usually only partially thought-through and decided.

These individuals quickly shift into understanding what this means for the people reporting to them but not for them specifically. They skip over that part and then succeed or fail under their new manager not because of strategic and purposeful planning and decisions but as a matter of coincidence. Let’s talk about 5 things you should do when you’ve been reorged under a new manager to be successful.

1. Understand who you new manager is as a leader

This is often a suggestion I make because it really affects how you as a manager can be effective with others. What makes them tick? What are they optimizing for? What kinds of things are important to them? Understanding these fundamentals will help you adapt your communication style and priorities to align with theirs (or understand where alignment might take longer), but it goes deeper than that.

You’ll want to find out or ask about how they prefer to receive information. Do they like detailed written updates or quick bullet points? Chat app messages or a doc? Deck or a 1-pager? What kinds of information do they like to receive, and equally important, what do they not need to know about? How do they perceive success, both for themselves and for the people reporting to them? These insights will shape every interaction you have moving forward and help you position yourself as someone who makes their job easier rather than harder.

2. Assume a deep dive into your area

Here’s the reality: your new manager is going to want to understand what you do, how you do it, and what’s currently happening in your space. You should be prepared for this conversation, and you should approach it strategically.

Start by thinking about everything you want to make sure to communicate to them, and then here’s the hard part – slim it down to 1/3rd of those things. This individual is going to be coming into information overload from multiple areas, not just yours. You want to make sure they know and remember the primary 3-5 points you want them to walk away with. Of course there’s a whole lot more, and there’s time for that later, but prioritize ruthlessly.

Focus on your biggest blockers – what’s preventing your team from being more effective? What are you MOST hoping for them to do or help you with? What have you been trying to advocate for or push through for a while that maybe now, with new leadership, might have a chance? Are there any people reporting to you or any projects that you truly want to highlight because they’re either doing exceptionally well or need immediate attention? Come to them also not just with problems, but also with ideas. Offering something like, here is something that is a blocker or concern for us and here’s what I think would help make it better. Remember, this is your chance to set the narrative about your area, so make it count.

3. Help them get to know you and your style

While you’re learning about them, don’t forget that this relationship is bidirectional. Your new manager needs to understand how you work best, what your management philosophy is, and what you need to be successful. Give them a little overview into how you run things – are you hands-on or do you prefer to delegate? How do you like to communicate with your team? What does your decision-making process look like?

Be honest about your pet peeves and the things that really matter to you. Maybe you’re particular about how information flows to your team, or perhaps you have strong feelings about meeting cadences. What information do you need when showing up for a meeting where you’re presenting? Whatever it is, surface it now so your manager is aware. This loops back to item 1, where if you know these things about them and they know these things about you, you can often figure out where you might have points of friction and where together you’ll compliment each other effectively. The goal is to find your working rhythm as quickly as possible.

4. Provide additional reading

Here’s something I’ve observed time and time again: companies and organizations often work the same way... hurry up and wait. What do I mean by this? I mean you should always be ready with the next 5 things you would do if you suddenly got the bandwidth or approval to do so.

Something I often see, for example, are managers or leaders talking about needing headcount or to hire additional folks. They ask and ask and ask for a while, never getting approval. Then, one day, their boss gives them the approval and all of a sudden, they have to think about a job description, how to hire that person, what the interview process should look like, etc. They’re scrambling because they weren’t prepared for the “yes.”

Now, of course you don’t want to over-optimize and spend all your time on initiatives that won’t see the light of day, but you want to have some groundwork laid for that sudden yes. Who would you hire and why? What strategic initiatives would you kick off and why? What processes would you implement or change? Having these thought through, even at a high level, positions you as someone who’s strategic and forward-thinking.

This ties directly back to your area deep dive in number 2. You want to have your new manager walk away with key points from your initial conversation, but you also want to have the documents, key points, and decisions outlined in a clear and concise way so that if you’re asked for more details or your manager wants to dig deeper, you can quickly and easily pass additional information along to them. Being prepared shows that you’re thinking ahead and that you’re someone they can rely on.

5. Build relationships with your peers

Often a move to a new manager also comes with a new peer group, and this shift is just as important as your relationship with your new boss. Just as important as understanding how your new manager works and what they care about, you need to get curious about your new peer group. These are the people you’ll be collaborating with, potentially competing with for resources, and hopefully supporting as you all navigate this transition together.

What are the top things on their mind right now? How do they like to work – are they collaborative or do they prefer to work independently and sync up periodically? How do they view their peer team versus the folks that report to them? What is that balance for them between supporting their direct reports and supporting their peers? Understanding these dynamics will help you figure out how to be most effective in this new structure and how to build the alliances that will help you and your team succeed.

The reality is that reorgs happen fast, and middle managers often get caught in the shuffle. By being proactive about these five areas, you can set yourself up for success under new leadership instead of leaving it to chance. Remember, your new manager is likely dealing with a lot of change too, so making their job easier by being prepared and clear about your area will go a long way toward building a strong working relationship.

Stay tuned for part 3, where we’ll dive into how to make re-orgs easier for individuals across the organization.

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