[trentnix]

Good stuff.

I've found that, as a manager, forcing the grind is also a useful tactic to get a new team member involved. Assign a challenging task that addresses a shared pain point and that requires some measure of tedium and lots of effort.

Not only will the completed work result in a new team member being accepted and respected (as you've experienced), the new team member will also develop a sense of value and ownership in the project. The faster new team members get through that period where they feel like an outsider to where they feel like they are contributing value, the better.