Industry:HR Compliance Added By:Admin Posted On:Sept. 11, 2019
Many employees hope to move from peer to boss and take on more important, more visible work. A promotion is exciting, but it can also be daunting, because a leader faces new pressures and has to make harder calls. This article covers the main challenges of managing former peers after a promotion and how to handle each one.
Are your colleagues as pleased about your achievement as you are? Dealing with people who were your coworkers until recently is one of the hardest parts of starting out as a leader.
Don’t expect everyone to adjust overnight. It takes time for colleagues to accept that you are now their manager rather than their peer, and reactions will be mixed. Some who wanted the role may resent you, while those who supported you from the start will be glad.
Either way, your team needs to understand what your new role means and what your responsibilities to them are. Choose your words and moments carefully when you explain what the position requires of them and how it affects the organization’s growth. A calm, respectful approach works better than a sudden show of authority.
Set clear expectations, too: what you need from each person, and the attitude you expect toward the work and the organization.
Coming to terms with a changed work environment helps you understand the weight of your new responsibilities and the transition you are going through. Ignoring it can lead to poor decisions, because you are no longer in the same position as your former peers.
You won’t share the same conversations and confidences as before. This works both ways. There is information you can no longer share with your team, and they may hold back what they know from you.
At times the atmosphere may feel tense, with some colleagues showing resentment, and your responsibilities will weigh on you as well. Accepting this and drawing a clear line between your role and theirs gives you a better way to deal with the resentment. It also helps you avoid favoritism toward old friends on the team, which leads to the next challenge.
Some former peers may struggle to accept that you won a tough competition for the role. That does not mean you should put up with being frozen out.
It may be tempting to push back and assert your authority, but that usually makes the situation worse and damages your reputation as a new manager. However difficult things become, don’t retaliate.
Instead, have a one-to-one conversation with the colleague who is uncomfortable or causing trouble. This gives you more control over the situation. It can also build a stronger working relationship and help the person accept your new position.
Your former peers will still be part of your working life, but it helps to build new connections at your new level. Getting to know other managers lets you learn what the role demands from people who have done it.
This also gives your old peers time to see the bigger picture and gradually accept your move from peer to boss.
New connections help you learn your new responsibilities and build trust and confidence in your role. Ask your own manager for guidance on handling the new demands of the position, and on how you can support them in return.
Moving from peer to manager takes patience. Set clear expectations, accept that relationships will change, handle resentment through direct one-to-one conversations rather than confrontation, and build a new network among your fellow managers. With time, most teams come to accept the change.