Minnesota Vikings linebacker Kyle Van Noy knows what it feels like to be the newcomer. In an Entrepreneur column published October 19, the two-time Super Bowl champion and Pro Bowler, now in his 13th NFL season, drew on seven stints as “the new guy” across six teams. He offered nine lessons for anyone starting a new job or welcoming someone who is.
Listen First, Then Deliver
For new hires, Van Noy recommends a quiet first week spent noticing whom colleagues turn to for answers, while holding back opinions until relationships form. He advises delivering one visible project within the first month. Results changed how Vikings teammates treated him after he recorded 1.5 sacks and four tackles for loss in his first three games. He also says newcomers should accept starting lower on the ladder: he began this season on the Vikings’ practice squad and reached the active roster within a month.
Van Noy also cautions against forced leadership. After feeling pressure in Miami to be the loud team leader, he now prefers to pull individuals aside and explain his reasoning. His last tip for newcomers is to treat the team to a meal within two weeks, as he did when he took the entire defensive line to dinner on arrival.
How Employers Can Ease the Transition
Van Noy has four pointers for those bringing someone in. He urges them to welcome the whole person, recalling a teammate who invited him and his son bass fishing. He also says established staff should never snub a newcomer, as Calvin Johnson did not when Van Noy was struggling in Detroit. Clear standards matter too, including expectations, metrics, consequences and a written 30-day plan handed over on day one. Finally, he suggests helping relocating hires with housing, schools and trusted local contacts.
Van Noy says these steps shorten the learning curve for everyone. Johnson and Vikings teammate Ryan Van Demark made his own transitions easier, and he aims to do the same for whoever arrives next.