When new management comes in, make sure they know you're a part of the team and wanted to be treated as such Dear Bob …I have a new manager. That’s good, and I’m not complaining. My old manager was ineffective, our department had become complacent (that’s putting it kindly), and we needed someone to sweep away the cobwebs.[ Also on InfoWorld: Bob suggests another strategy after an acquisition in “When taking over a business, begin with the basics” | Get sage advice on IT careers and management from Bob Lewis in InfoWorld’s Advice Line newsletter. ] As part of the cobweb sweeping, the new manager has brought in three managers he’s worked with before to head up key parts of the organization. That leaves two of us as holdovers from the old regime. We were considered strong enough that we kept our jobs, but it’s clear in a hundred small ways there’s a club running the department and we aren’t members.I don’t think I need to explain that this isn’t a good feeling.What do we need to do to either break the club apart (the right answer, I think — I don’t consider inner circles to be healthy) or, if we can’t do that, to join? – OutsiderDear Outsider …First: If it is a closed club, that isn’t healthy. If it’s open to new members, only with stringent requirements for joining, that’s another matter entirely. I suspect the situation is too new for either you or the club members to know. That doesn’t mean you should sit quietly to the side, waiting for an invitation. Quite the opposite — you should do everything you can to make the right answer (“right” meaning “the one you want”) to be the actual outcome.How do you do this? I’d advise against confronting your new manager. You might need to exercise this step in the future. If you spring now, though, it labels you in a subtle way as someone who doesn’t take the initiative.Instead, take the initiative. The most important step is to interact with the club members as if you’re a social equal and an organizational peer. Be natural. Give trust and behave just as if your counterparts trust you. Buttonhole them for casual hallway conversations. When you bump into them at 11:30 a.m., suggest grabbing lunch. In short, turn yourself into a full person, with all the perks and privileges that go with full personhood. Once you’re a person, it’s just a couple of additional steps to becoming a member of the club.– BobThis story, “Claim your rightful spot on the management team,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Read more of Bob Lewis’s Advice Line blog on InfoWorld.com. For the latest business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter. CareersIT Jobs