A few months ago I wrote giving an advice for when starting in a new team - which could be extended also for when a new member joins your existing team, as in either case the dynamic of the team changes and that’s what matters.

Now I would like to add to that advice, in addition to waiting some time before coming to conclusions about your new team, company or new team member make sure to mark everything that doesn’t look good to you with a blue tape.

What do you mean?

In real estate there’s something called the “blue tape inspection”, which basically is when a property being bought gets an inspection before contracts are signed and everything that requires fixing is marked with a blue tape. After that, contractors will come to the house and fix everything marked with blue tape and have the house ready to go (reference: luminaterealestate.com/post/what-is-a-blue-..)

We can follow the same principle in our professional careers at times where either we join a new team or have a new member joining our existing team. While Tuckman’s ‘Developmental sequence’ still applies, it can be very helpful to keep “marking with blue tape“ things that don’t look right, then after a couple of months we go back to them and see whether they’re no longer an issue or require follow up.

Conclusion

At any time in your career where there’s a dynamic change, which can be when you start in a new team, a new company or when someone new joins your team, it can be very helpful to keep Bruce Tuckman’s ‘Developmental sequence in small groups’ in mind and giving some time before coming to conclusions about anyone - but make sure to “mark with blue tape” things that don’t look good so you can get back to them and consider whether they are still an issue and require follow up with your manager or problem has been resolved.