How to Earn Your New Team's Trust: 7 Steps to Success

Shoutout to Gen Z for flipping the job market on its head. Now it's not just employers choosing talent — you're choosing them right back. If you're serious about growing and building a career, this one's for you.

Use this as a compass when navigating a new environment, or just to get unstuck. You don't have to follow every point — think of it as a toolkit for when you're staring at a blank page.

I'm sharing what's worked for me. If you've just joined a team and noticed the product quality is shaky and the tech stack is gathering dust, you probably want to shake things up. But what do you do when you haven't earned your stripes yet?

1. Understand the current approach

Start by really digging into how things work and why these particular technologies are in place. Instead of asking "why aren't we using something newer?" ask yourself "why are we using this now?" This shows respect for context and helps you build trust.

2. Draw conclusions and pick your path

Once you understand the processes, you'll likely land in one of two places:

• You see solid reasons for the legacy tools. They fit the company and solve its problems. Decide if you're okay with that, or if you'd rather find a team with a more modern approach.
• You don't see compelling reasons to maintain the status quo, and modernization would genuinely help. Then choose: stay and gradually push for improvements, or move to a team that's already operating at that level.

3. Watch how you voice frustrations

While you're observing and learning, be careful not to become "the know-it-all who criticizes everything." Your goal is to fit in, earn trust, and contribute — not to annoy your colleagues with constant critiques.

4. Raise the bar in your own work first

Wherever you can, demonstrate high standards in your own deliverables. As trust grows, your results become your best argument. People will see what you've achieved, and you'll have the credibility to spread successful practices across the team.

5. Introduce changes incrementally

Another solid approach is to blend the old with the new. Add a small but useful tool or feature to the existing system and show how it improves clarity, speed, or quality. If it works, adoption becomes a lot easier.

6. Earn authority through consistent delivery

Authority comes from reliably shipping work on time and drama-free. As your experience deepens, your case for new ideas gets stronger — because you know the system, and people trust you.

7. Build a reputation as someone who gets things done

A track record of wins is the shortest path to influence. Colleagues and managers value people they can count on. Those people's ideas get the attention they deserve because they back up their words with action and take ownership of execution.

Follow these steps, and you'll strengthen your position, bring fresh perspective, and help your team level up — even without seniority from day one.

And yeah, this makes for a killer line on your resume too.