<<This article is the third in a series of Leadership Lessons from Wikipedia.>>

Millions of people read Wikipedia, and only a few thousand edit. And yet, the ‘pedia wouldn’t exist without these people.

Every day, new people hit the “edit” tab that appears on every page. In order for the project to continue, to grow, and to properly document the sum of all human knowledge, we need new editors. Old editors fade away as their interests changes, as their energy is diverted into other pursuits or as they pass away.

Because the noobs (Internet slang for newcomer or newbie) are critical to the sustainment of the project, all editors are enjoined to “Please do not bite the newcomers.”

Companies can learn how to be welcoming by seeing how Wikipedia greets their newcomers.

A Game of Giant Jenga

Hanging out on Saturday afternoon, my family found ourselves at a sports pub that had recently bought a giant Jenga game. The rules are simple. Pull a block from below, add it to the top and don’t topple the stack. Our older children had played before. They had seen the stack topple. Our youngest? Nope. First time. His strength was what he didn’t know. His strength was his lack of fear. He would grab pieces that his sister eschewed! He would pull pieces at a speed and confidence while his siblings were scared to even touch the same piece. Near the end, he needed to stand on a chair to place the pieces on top of the stack.

His Beginner’s Mind gave him freedom, flexibility and confidence to reach higher.

The Value of Newcomers

On our teams at work, the newcomers can help us reach higher. Therefore,  we should also avoid biting the newcomers. Ideally, newcomers will feel welcomed onto your team. They will feel supported and become productive quickly. They will stay with us, join our mission and move our projects forward. Churn — that early turnover that happens before the new employee has even become productive — is incredibly expensive.

Newcomers bring important insight. The seven most expensive words in the English language are, “Because we’ve always done it that way.”

We all know that history is important, and past is prologue. Your current employees and those with long tenure are valuable. So too are the newcomers. The newcomers bring a fresh perspective, new insights, a beginner’s mind, new skills and curiosity.

Onboarding

Upon establishing a new Wikipedia User Account, a new User Page is also created. A home for the person, which in real life, can mean their cubicle or office. Someone welcomes the newcomer with a message that states, “Greetings! We’re glad you’re here!” In your office, you can write a hand-written note. Or send a welcoming email, introducing them to the team. With that welcome email, think about how your company’s culture responds. Do people write to the newcomer, welcoming them? Or is it a perfunctory HR function to onboard the new person? Take the newcomer to lunch, gift them with some company swag (polo shirt or lanyard).

The onboarding process can rightly be seen as a continuation of the recruiting and hiring process. When we onboard people well, their decision is confirmed. A sloppy or — worse — hostile onboarding can trigger buyer’s remorse. The same feeling that we might have after buying a house that starts to fall apart after the escrow closes can descend upon a new hire who is treated poorly and bitten.

Indoctrination

Most organizations put newcomers through indoc. We don’t often remember that the full word is indoctrination, perhaps because that word is somewhat scary. The literal meaning is to infuse someone with our doctrine. Except that if we value fresh insights, we must tread carefully.

People of my generation grew up on School House Rock, in between our Saturday morning cartoons. While our parents slept in, we were singing, Conjunction Junction, I’m Just a Bill and The Great American Melting Pot. The melting pot is a fascinating metaphor for assimilation into a new culture, and indicative of its time. My grandfather’s parents refused to speak German in their home, declaring that as Americans, they would speak only English. Immigrants of the 21st century preserve their language. We have become more of a mosaic; keeping our individual identities intact while forming a larger, colorful and cohesive picture.

So too with our newcomers. When a newcomer joins the team, spend as much time learning about them as you do teaching them. You hired them for their experiences, knowledge, abilities and skills. As you go through indoc, ensure that you continue to honor those qualities.

Team Inclusion

New team members can often feel excluded through seemingly minor issues. Jargon, inside jokes and shared cultural experiences serve specific sociological purposes. Every group, every tribe, every team has unique jargon, often a collection of acronyms that “everyone knows”. Leaders might forget to introduce themselves, in the mistaken assumption that everyone knows who they are. These tribal customs help groups identify insiders and outsiders. Newcomers often feel as if they are still outsiders, months after their onboarding is concluded.

Inclusive language, frequent introductions, and online acronym guides can all accelerate the inculcation of newcomers. About seven years after the launch of Wikipedia, the Missing Manual was born to serve this precise purpose.

Keep in mind that in addition to teaching the newcomers the ways and mores of the group, you will also want to create space for their own uniqueness to be blended into the team mosaic. On Wikipedia, new editors are encouraged to follow their own path, whether that means pitching in on existing projects or starting their own.

For example, a team may have a shared movie or show that everyone has seen. Back in my squadron days, our flight crew (about 14 people on an EP-3) knew all the lines from Raising Arizona. When we brought a new member into the crew, they were invited to watch Raising Arizona, so they could fit in. We brought them into the melting pot. A better approach would be to ask newcomers about their favorite cultural touchstone. Or ask every team member what their must-see movie or show is. You will learn about the team, and the team culture will morph into something new, richer and more complex.

Forgiveness and Patience

Ultimately, we all need mercy more than we need justice. Being patient with the new talent will reap rewards in the long run, as the team grows, learns and flourishes with new, talented people and tenured, talented people working together.