How to Lead the Team You Inherit
By the time you’re handed the keys to your new office — whether you’re the incoming CEO, a freshly-minted manager, or the latest external hire parachuted in to “fix things” — one truth tends to reveal itself quickly: the team you’ve inherited may not be the one you would have chosen. But it’s yours now, with all its hidden gems, fragile dynamics, and sometimes dormant potential. Leading such a team isn’t just a leadership challenge, it’s an emotional and political test of your maturity, patience, and vision.
Unlike the romantic notion of building a dream team from scratch, inheriting a team means working within pre-set dynamics, loyalties, and cultures. As Michael Watkins, Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD), notes, “The whole process is fraught with trade-offs. You need to maintain stability while moving ahead” [1]. The challenge is not simply to assess and replace, but to preserve what works, address what doesn’t, and make progress without alienating those whose support you will need most.
Start with curiosity, not conclusions
The worst mistake a leader can make when stepping into a new team is assuming they already know what’s wrong. “Quick assessments and defaulting to replacing people often stem from unconscious biases, not data,” writes Marlo Lyons in Harvard Business Review [2]. Whether it’s the availability heuristic (judging based on the most visible information) or affinity bias (favouring those who resemble ourselves), new leaders often fall into cognitive traps that cloud their judgement.
Rather than rushing to conclusions, start by listening. Tinna Jackson, President & CEO of Jackson Consulting Group [3], and Janine Schindler, MCC, Founder of JAS Leadership [4], each recommend going on a “listening tour” to sit down with each team member and hear their view of the business, the team, and their role within it. Ask open questions: “What’s working well?”, “Where do you see obstacles?”, “If you had a magic wand, what would you change?” You’re not just gathering data, you’re signalling respect.
This isn’t about passivity. It’s about information. As Jackson puts it: “You have to be a sponge before you’re a sculptor” [5]. Once you truly understand the team’s dynamics, only then can you shape them effectively.
Make objectivity your discipline
Leadership is not intuition, it’s structured judgment. That means codifying what you’re looking for in your team, assessing performance systematically, and resisting the allure of “gut feel.” Watkins recommends a framework where leaders score team members not just on competence, but also trustworthiness, energy, people skills, and judgement [6]. These aren’t soft metrics; they’re indicators of future performance and cohesion.
Joe Moglia, former CEO of TD Ameritrade and head football coach at Coastal Carolina, used an A-B-C system when inheriting teams: A-players are clear keepers, C-players are clear exits, and B-players are the development pool [7]. This model is reductive but helpful. It forces clarity and prompts development plans rather than passive inertia.
Just as important is triangulation. Review past performance appraisals, survey results, 360-degree feedback, and stakeholder interviews. Your job is not to protect egos or cling to loyalty, your job is to be fair. As Lyons argues, “Fairness doesn’t guarantee that everyone will stay, but it does mean everyone gets a fair review” [8].
Build trust before you break ground
There’s a seductive logic to bringing in your own people. Trusted lieutenants speak your language, anticipate your cues, and create a sense of psychological safety in unfamiliar terrain. But replacing an inherited team too swiftly — particularly before investing the time to build relationships — can backfire in ways that are difficult to reverse.
The impulse to act decisively is understandable. Yet the most effective transitions start not with authority, but with transparency. Let your team know how they’ll be evaluated, what values will guide your decisions, and how they can succeed under your leadership. Offer a “performance runway”, giving workers the time and clarity needed to demonstrate their capabilities in the context of your expectations.
It’s also essential to acknowledge the trust capital that long-tenured team members may already hold. As Watkins puts it, “Sometimes team members are essential for running the business in the short term, but not the right people to lead it into the future” [10]. Their institutional knowledge and internal relationships can be vital during periods of transition even if their long-term fit remains in question. If you handle their presence with respect, these individuals can become advocates for your leadership rather than sources of resistance.
Lyons highlights the cautionary tale of “Maya,” a new leader who quickly swept in with her own team and sidelined experienced internal leaders. “Her goal was to ‘raise the level of talent,’ but the move created lasting damage,” Lyons writes [9]. Engagement plummeted. Trust evaporated. Fear replaced initiative. The lesson: moving too fast can not only destabilise culture, but also cast a long shadow over your credibility.
Reshape, don’t just replace
If the team you inherit isn’t performing, the instinct to clean house can be strong. But as Lyons warns, “urgency is not an excuse for recklessness” [11]. Sudden or sweeping changes may satisfy a desire for control, but they can also erode morale, sever critical informal networks, and discard valuable institutional memory.
Instead, approach change with precision. Michael Watkins outlines four levers for reshaping a team effectively: composition, alignment, operating model, and behavioural integration [12]. Begin with composition — not by making cuts, but by reconfiguring roles, shifting responsibilities, and uncovering underutilised talent. Can high-potential players step up into new challenges? Can marginal performers thrive with a different scope? Often, reallocation — not removal — is the smartest first move. This layered approach avoids the blunt instrument of wholesale replacement and allows change to unfold with both dignity and direction.
From there, turn your attention to alignment. This is not just a matter of lofty mission statements or vague KPIs. Alignment means answering — clearly and consistently — who does what, why it matters, and how success will be measured. In one of Watkins’ case studies, poor alignment on incentives and goals had caused even skilled teams to splinter. “People weren’t as aligned on goals, metrics, and incentives as they needed to be,” he observed. Once those mismatches were corrected, performance soared [13].
Together, transparency, trust, and thoughtful restructuring set the foundation for sustainable leadership. It’s not about acting slowly. It’s about acting wisely.
Redesign the operating rhythm
Inherited teams often carry inherited rhythms — standing meetings, reporting lines, decision-making bottlenecks. Many new leaders fall into the trap of preserving these by default, not design. Don’t.
Take a hard look at how the team operates: How often do they meet, and for what purpose? Are decisions made collaboratively or top-down? Are meetings dominated by operations, leaving no room for strategy or reflection?
Watkins suggests distinguishing between three types of meetings: strategic (long-term direction), operational (day-to-day execution), and learning (reflection and development) [14]. Too often, teams mash all three into one overcrowded session — where short-term urgencies squeeze out long-term thinking. Redesigning this cadence can transform both pace and culture.
At Coastal Carolina, Moglia enforced a discipline of accountability that extended to how people showed up, not just what they did. “We only wanted players who were going to take personal responsibility for their actions, treat others with dignity and respect, and not make excuses,” he said [15]. Behavioural expectations aren’t a footnote, they’re your culture.
Secure early wins without sacrificing the future
Your early days in a new leadership role are more than symbolic. They’re formative. What you do — or fail to do — becomes lore. That’s why early wins matter. They build credibility, reassure doubters, and create momentum.
But not all wins are created equal. Look for actions that reinforce your values. Solving a persistent pain point, simplifying a broken process, or celebrating an unsung contributor can send a signal: things are changing, and your leadership has teeth.
At the same time, don’t mistake motion for progress. Change must be earned, not enforced. A CEO profiled by Watkins resisted the urge to clear the decks immediately, opting instead to gradually reshuffle roles and realign incentives. The result? Sales growth that beat targets three times over within the first year [16].
Lead like you’re watching yourself
Ultimately, how you lead the team you inherit says as much about your character as your competence. Do you come in as a fixer, a disruptor, a saviour? Or as a steward, a student, a strategist?
“The best leaders lead with both urgency and patience,” writes Lyons. “They make decisive moves, but only after gathering the right information. They bring fresh vision, but also honour the work that came before them” [17].
And they understand that leadership isn’t a performance — it’s a pattern. The tone you set in week one may echo for years. So ask yourself: Are you modelling the collaboration, accountability, and openness you expect from others?
How to lead the team you inherit
Inherited teams are not blank canvases. They come with texture — some of it beautiful, some bruised. You may need to redraw lines, reassign roles, or rewire operating rhythms. But if you begin with curiosity, act with fairness, communicate with clarity, and build trust brick by brick, you can convert even the most sceptical group into believers. Not overnight, but through the consistency of your intent.
If done with care, you may discover that the team you didn’t choose becomes the one you’re proudest to lead — not because they were perfect when you arrived, but because they evolved with you. The real question is not: “Is this the team I wanted?” It’s: “Can I be the leader this team needs?”
Sources
[1] https://cic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leading-the-Team-You-Inherit.pdf
[2] https://hbr.org/2025/06/5-steps-for-leading-a-team-youve-inherited?ab=HP-hero-latest-1
[6] https://cic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leading-the-Team-You-Inherit.pdf
[8] https://hbr.org/2025/06/5-steps-for-leading-a-team-youve-inherited?ab=HP-hero-latest-1
[9] https://hbr.org/2025/06/5-steps-for-leading-a-team-youve-inherited?ab=HP-hero-latest-1
[10] https://cic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leading-the-Team-You-Inherit.pdf
[11] https://hbr.org/2025/06/5-steps-for-leading-a-team-youve-inherited?ab=HP-hero-latest-1
[12] https://cic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leading-the-Team-You-Inherit.pdf
[13] https://cic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leading-the-Team-You-Inherit.pdf
[14] https://cic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leading-the-Team-You-Inherit.pdf
[16] https://cic.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Leading-the-Team-You-Inherit.pdf
[17] https://hbr.org/2025/06/5-steps-for-leading-a-team-youve-inherited?ab=HP-hero-latest-1
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