Starting a new role feels less like a gentle onboarding and more like getting blasted in the face with a firehose. That “drinking from the firehose” phrase has been said to me probably 50 times this past week. Acronyms, processes, personalities; it all comes at you fast, and there’s no pause button.
When you’re in that season, it’s so tempting to just try and work harder. You can work longer nights, have back-to-back meetings, and generally try to squeeze productivity out of every drop. The truth is this: the best way to actually absorb all that new information isn’t to burn yourself out. It’s to keep yourself running as efficiently as possible.
Here are a few best practices that make the difference—plus where AI can be an ally:
Protect your energy.
Sleep, diet, movement. These matter more than most people know or admit. You can’t process complex information or remember conversations if your body is running on fumes. Think of rest as part of the job description, not an optional perk.
Where AI helps: use AI to streamline repetitive or low-value tasks so you’re not wasting energy. For example, AI can summarize long documents, generate meeting notes, or even remind you of deadlines. That way, you’re reserving your limited focus for higher-value thinking, not administrative clutter.
Ask, don’t assume.
Early on, one-on-one conversations are gold. A quick chat about what frustrates someone or what’s working well can teach you more than hours of documentation. Curiosity is the cheat code.
Where AI helps (with caution): after your conversations, you can feed your personal meeting notes into an AI tool to spot patterns across multiple discussions—what keeps coming up, what’s unique, and what deserves attention. Important disclaimer: don’t put sensitive or confidential data into public AI tools. Keep it high-level and anonymized. Think “theme-finding,” not “quote-transcribing.” It might even make sense to have two sets of notes: one for AI (general) and one for yourself (more detailed/personal).
Stay present in the moment.
This ties heavily to the energy aspect. If you’re not rested and healthy, multiple meetings can blur together, distractions are plentiful, and it’s easy to lose track. When you’re rested, it’s easier to give someone your undivided attention. They’re taking time out of their day to help you—the least you can do is give them your attention and genuine interest.
Where AI helps: AI can act like a memory aid. Instead of trying to write every word during a meeting, jot high-level thoughts and later let AI help expand or organize them. This frees you up to stay fully present during the actual conversation. You technically can record/transcribe meetings, but I don’t like that approach on intro meetings. It should be free/informal conversations.
Have a guide for 1:1s.
It’s always useful to have a set of questions. You’re aiming to find pain points, expectations, and general best practices. If you can keep the questions consistent, you can spot patterns. Conversations should still flow naturally, but having a guide keeps you from missing the big stuff.
Where AI helps: AI can help you draft those question templates, tailored to role, team type, or project. It can also help refine your questions as patterns emerge, making sure you’re digging deeper in the right areas.
Respect different rhythms.
Teams work in wildly different ways. Some thrive on agile rituals like standups and retros. Others rely on autonomy and minimal ceremony. Neither is “wrong.” Be sure to observe and understand long before suggesting change. This is what builds trust.
Where AI helps: use AI to map out and compare workflows without judgment. For instance, have AI summarize how Team A structures their day versus Team B, so you can see differences without slipping into value judgments. It’s less about ranking, more about understanding.
Absorb before you act.
New leaders especially feel pressure to prove themselves immediately. It’s natural to want to make a strong impact from the start. But the strongest start isn’t about making sweeping changes. It’s about learning the terrain and showing people you care about how they already work.
Where AI helps: instead of jumping straight to solutions, use AI as a reflection partner. Ask it to analyze your notes and suggest possible connections, risks, or dependencies. This helps you see the landscape more clearly before you act.
At the end of the day, starting fresh isn’t about how much you can do in the first month. It’s about how much you can learn. And how well you can take care of yourself so you’re sharp enough to keep learning tomorrow.
AI isn’t here to replace those human conversations or gut instincts, it’s here to keep the firehose manageable, so you can focus on the people and the patterns that matter most.