- Get to know the people on the team.
- Take time to understand the team's "why"—how they contribute to business and customer outcomes and align with the product strategy. Learn how key leaders perceive the team's role.
- Engage with customers (internal customers in this case) to understand their needs and expectations.
- Dive into the codebase to understand its evolution over the past few quarters or years.
- Communicate clearly with the team about the need for temporary stabilization measures, explaining that once things settle, there will be room for experimentation and co-designing the way forward.
- Use social capital to call a "Time Out," temporarily pausing new commitments or incoming work. Empower the team by handling external pushback personally: "If anyone questions this, have them talk to me!" Set clear expectations with stakeholders about the slowdown and pause.
- Review recent months of work to analyze how the team set priorities, the impact on core metrics, and where the team spent its time. Reassure the team about the intent to build toward a better future.
- Collaborate with the product manager and team to draft a clear near-term strategy.
- Gradually reintroduce work, establishing a steady cadence and prioritizing tempo over keeping everyone perpetually busy.
- Transition to being less prescriptive.