What you'll learn
How to use Discover to learn how the people you now work with prefer to communicate, before your first real interaction
How to use Coaching Topics to work through the change, whether it is a promotion, new responsibilities, or covering for a teammate
How to use Dashboard Builder to get a clear view of the people you lead or collaborate with, with or without a formal Cloverleaf team
Where Roleplay fits when one specific conversation needs rehearsal
Who is this guide for?
Anyone whose role changed recently, whether on purpose or not. A promotion, a reorganization, or a teammate being out for a few weeks or months all count.
If you are a manager, this guide covers building relationships with direct reports you are now responsible for.
Before you get into the tools Role changes rarely arrive on a schedule. A promotion, a restructure, or a teammate out for two months while they recover can each put you in front of people you have not worked with before, and the person who knows them best may not be available to ask.
Two examples run through this guide. Avery is promoted to manager and gets a new title. Emery has no title change, but covers a teammate's work while that teammate is out, including a cross-functional group Emery does not normally work with.
How do I learn how the people I now work with prefer to work?
Discover lets you ask Cloverleaf a question about yourself, a teammate, or your team. It answers using the behavioral data of the people involved, not a generic framework. Open Discover from your left-side navigation.
Manager example:
Avery asks, "How does this team make decisions when priorities are unclear?"
Individual contributor example:
Emery asks, "How does this person prefer to receive a status report, and how should I ask for feedback on it?" Emery gets a working answer without calling the colleague who is out.
Write Discover's answer back in your own words before you act on it. That is what makes it something you remember in the room.
How do I work through the change itself?
A Coaching Topic is ongoing coaching on a goal, a relationship, or something you are working through. It has no fixed length. It runs until you tell Cloverleaf you are ready to move on.
Find Coaching in your left-side navigation, under Assessments.
Open Manage topics, select Add new topic, and describe what you want coaching on in your own words.
Manager example:
Jordan is missing deadlines and waiting on teammates. Instead of stepping in, Avery assigns Jordan a topic: “Help Jordan plan his work backward from due dates and get deliverables from teammates on time: asking early, agreeing on dates up front, following up before a deadline slips, and raising risks to me sooner.”
Individual contributor example:
Coaching Topics are not only for people with direct reports. Emery sets one around taking over a colleague's relationships on the other team without disrupting what the colleague built.
How do I get a clear view of a group that is not a formal team?
Dashboard Builder builds a custom view of any teammates you choose, without a formal Cloverleaf team. Open Dashboard Builder from Collaborate in your left-side navigation, select Customize, and add the people you are working with. Teammates are not notified when you add them, and Visibility Settings still apply. There is no built-in save, so bookmark the page to return to it.
Review Thinking Styles Comparison and Energy Rhythm for the group to see how its members tend to make decisions and when their energy peaks.
Individual contributor example:
Emery builds a view of the cross-functional group before the first meeting.
Manager example:
Avery builds the same view to see the group Emery is covering, and coaches Emery with that context.
Decision point: To have this prep happen for every meeting, connect your calendar. Cloverleaf generates a Meeting Dashboard for meetings where at least two teammates have Cloverleaf accounts. For one group or one conversation, use Dashboard Builder instead.
What about rehearsing a specific conversation?
Once you have a read on the people involved and a Coaching Topic running, Roleplay lets you rehearse one specific conversation with an AI partner before you have it for real. It ends with a scored evaluation.
Where should I start?
Managers:
Run one Discover session on your new team before your first real decision.
Assign a Coaching Topic to a direct report who is struggling with deadlines or with getting deliverables from teammates.
If someone you manage is covering for a colleague or leading a cross-functional group, build a Dashboard Builder view of that group to coach them with context.
Individual contributors:
Run one Discover session on the person you work with least but need most.
Build a Dashboard Builder view of the group you are now working with, and connect your calendar if you want that prep for every meeting.
Set a Coaching Topic around the change itself, even without direct reports.
When one conversation needs practice, use Roleplay to rehearse it first.
You'll know it worked when...
Discover gives you something specific enough about a person that you can restate it without checking the screen
Your Coaching Topic appears in Manage topics with the right focus, and any topic you assigned shows its status in the Assigned topics tab
Your Dashboard Builder view shows the right people without a formal team behind it
You walk into the real conversation having already heard the hardest version of it once