Working in a team after a promotion? It’s possible! | Jobs.ca
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Working in a team after a promotion? It’s possible!

You’re getting a beer after work with your colleagues. Then, the day after—surprise—you get a promotion and become their direct supervisor. Your relationship with them won’t be the same; how do you manage this transition effectively without causing much of a mess?

Right away, responsibilities change. Now you have to manage people, projects, deadlines, setbacks, problems, and occasionally important budgets. It’s not surprising that, in this context, your relationships with other employees change; calling the shots not only entails boosting the troops’ morale, but also ensuring their performance achieves business objectives. This is hard to achieve if you keep relationships that—in the long run—undermine your authority, which are vital to achieve the aforementioned objectives.

This is the reason why you have to ensure that the transition from a team member to a boss is done smoothly. Here is some advice for it to go over smoothly

1. Properly announce the news

It is your superior’s job to announce the news to the entire team. Announcing it any other way places the promoted person in a fragile position and is the worst-case scenario for any workplace relationship. This way, if some people have reservations, it is possible to discuss it with them without confrontation.

2. Stay tuned…

In case of doubts, continue doing what you always do: maintain respectful, courteous, professional relationships with each of your co-workers. You continue interacting with each other on the same wavelength as before, but the question is to avoid becoming a haughty person—draped in their newly acquired seniority—who thinks they are better than everyone else and isolates himself (herself) in their ivory tower. In short, be available, keep an ear to the ground, and help out as much as you can!

3. …and on the team

Want to settle into your newfound authority? You will soon, but for now, there is no rush. Human resource experts agree that a smooth transition to a leadership position is about acknowledging your team, bringing out each individual’s strengths, validating skills, and—especially—fairness: don’t play favourites, make any best friends, and out with the overbearing directive leadership.

4. Keep in mind, the hierarchy is often political

The small talk around the coffee machine is finished? Unfortunately, it seems so. When you find yourself in an authority positions, distance yourself from gossip or you might find yourself in embarrassing situations, even compromising. Keep your distance, implicate yourself less on a personal level, without having cold, reserved relationships. It is all a question of dosage and balance.

5. Neutralizing retrograde mindsets

If your antennas are trembling from hostile vibrations, maybe certain colleagues thought they would rightfully get the promotion. A little reminder: you don’t have to justify yourself. The best way to set the record straight is still to prove that, yes, being given more responsibilities was the right decision. How? Simple: by working harder and meeting expectations. People who show that they have the business’ success at heart and do not care about the amount of effort and energy to reach it deserve respect.

The being said, despite your intentions, you cannot please everyone and team members have the right to dislike you. However, on the other hand, that have to give you a minimum of courtesy and respect, as for the others, it’s still possible to get a beer after work!

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