Who is your “first team”?

When you become a new manager, you can feel like the race is on to prove yourself.

You’re ready to put your attention on serving those who report to you and rallying them to produce the results they’re expected to deliver for you and your team.

But surprisingly, that may be one of the most career-limiting approaches you can adopt.

When you first become a manager, you move from being a member of one team to being a member of two teams. The obvious team is the team you now manage. You may have once been an individual contributor in that team before becoming a manager, so your identity as a member of that team may be very strong.

But you’re also a member of another team now. That’s the team that your boss manages. Just as your direct reports have a responsibility to contribute to the results you deliver, you also have a responsibility to contribute to the results your boss delivers. And you have team relationships with the other people who report to the same manager you report to.

And guess which one of those is your “first team” – the team that should be your first priority. You may be surprised to learn that it’s not the team of people who report to you. It’s the team of people you report into.

If your team “makes their numbers,” but only at the expense of your peers and your boss, then you haven’t won. You didn’t outshine the other managers. You may have inadvertently sabotaged your collective success.

When you prioritize the success of your first team – that of your peers and your boss – you’ll often find that working towards their collective success often informs how you manage the team that reports to you. You’ll have clearer direction, better alignment, fewer and less-serious conflicts, and greater resilience to change. And that makes the experience better for everyone.

So if you want to prove yourself as a new manager, seek first the success of the team you report into. When you do, you’ll also contribute to the long-term success of the team that reports to you.