So you’ve just been promoted – that’s great! You’re excited – and so you should be! You’ve worked hard and really appreciate the opportunity you’ve been given to grow further within your company and industry. However, if your role now means your managing your previous colleagues, things can get pretty awkward… if you let them. Even if you’re not going to be managing other employees, the change in your job title and status will still change your working experience.
If you do get that new position, here’s some quick tips of advice to help you with your transition into your new role:
1) Celebrate
The first thing you should do is celebrate your promotion. Buy yourself something new, whether that’s clothes for work or a new laptop, or just something you’ve had your eye on for a while but could never really justify buying. Even if you don’t want to buy something specific, go out for something to eat or drink with some close friends or family – they will be as happy for you as you are for yourself. Don’t do anything flamboyant in front of your colleagues (possibly now your subordinates!) like running round the office and shouting. Try and play it cool – some of your colleagues may have gone for the same job that you got, and some of them may find it weird that you’re going to be their new boss!
2) Set Your Goals In Your New Job
Think about what your future holds and ask yourself – What do you want to accomplish and why? Set both personal and career goals before you start your new role. Within your new role, things are going to start moving very quickly. You’ll be learning new things and meeting new people so before everything get’s too fast, it’s important that you immediately set your own goals.
3) Proceed Slowly
When you’ve been promoted, it’s easy to think about everything and anything you want to change. Maybe you have great ideas and now you have more power, you can try and put them into action. Whatever the case, you need to make sure you take things slow and try not to rush into your office with a list full of changes. Change is made even worse when people get promoted or become management and start adjusting processes or systems that have been in place for ages. At the end of the day, you’re going to have a tonne of new responsibilities that you should focus on first. If the processes in place aren’t working how you want them to, surround yourself with other managers and get to know how and why things are how they are.
4) Acknowledge the Change and Set Expectations
When you start your new job, you need to acknowledge the change. Let your colleagues and potentially new team that things are going to change. You might say something like ‘Things are going to be a little different now, but, as (insert your new job title) I will be going this…’ You could ask people if they have any questions or any concerns.
5) Start Afresh
Within your old job and role, you might have had opinions about certain members of staff. Maybe you got on better with certain members of staff and didn’t like others, but within your new role, you shouldn’t let these opinions affect your ability to do your new job.
6) Don’t Be Hurt If You Are Treated Differently
As we’ve said, things are going to change now that you have this new job. It’s therefore important that you don’t get hurt if you are treated differently. Your old colleagues might not ask you to come out with them as much outside of work hours, but that’s okay. They now know that you have more responsibility and power, and so some may only want a professional relationship. Unfortunately, there’s a power dynamic at work that just can’t be ignored and it comes with this promotion.
7) Distance Yourself a Little
In fact, in some cases, your relationships with other members of staff may not immediately change. This is where it’s important to distance yourself a little and establish some boundaries. If as the new boss, you’re still hanging out with all your old friends and hearing them say things that aren’t really appropriate for you to know as the manager, you shouldn’t be there. Your leadership in general will come under question if you can’t change your relationships a little. Disengage from casual chitchat a little and say yes to fewer lunch invitations and you will cultivate that air of authority that you may need in your new position. Of course, if your promotion doesn’t affect your responsibility over your colleagues – there’s no reason for you to have to do this.
8) Show Them What You’re Made Of
Okay, so you’ve been given this promotion for a particular reason – and that’s because your boss thinks you have the ability and skill to do it! As you establish relations with members of the team and other people in the company, make sure you pull your socks up and show your management exactly what you can do.
9) Learn More
With any new job, there’s still going to be lots to learn. When you get your promotion, make sure you take the time to get to know the things that you need to know. It’s likely that you were in your old position for quite a while, so adjusting to a new position is going to take some time. Even in the same company, when you get a new role, you’re pretty much starting from scratch again. Learn the new systems (if there are any) and introduce yourself to any new team members you may have to work with that you haven’t worked with before.
10) Make the Most Our of Your First Promotion
Your first promotion is bound to make you excited and feel satisfied! You finally feel like you’re making progress. In order for you to continue to excel, make sure you handle it the right way and prove that you deserved it.