How To Handle Promotion At Work

/

Getting promoted, though a sign that your work is appreciated, can easily become a stressful experience, if not properly managed. You will have new expectations of yourself and so will everyone else.  From a position of being responsible for an outcome, you move to managing those actually doing to the work. It gets even more complicated when you are promoted to a position of managing colleagues that were previously your peers.

 This comes with changes that can only be easier to adapt to by being open, humble and trusting others to get the job done.

Here are some tips that can help you transition into your new role successfully:

  1. Don’t brag about your promotion. No one likes anyone who wears their pride on their sleeves without consideration of how others feel. If you need to celebrate, do it with your friends and family.
  2. Don’t change yourself either - You don’t need to lose any friends because of your new position. 
  3. You can’t be as friendly as you used to be. You definitely should not partake in office gossip or small talk as you used to or get drunk on Friday nights with your colleagues. They need to respect you and your expertise. It’s ok to remain friendly but don’t let it cloud your judgment.
  4. Be positive - Your colleagues should be able to see you as a rock and run to you with any problems or questions they have. You should not be seen complaining about work but should be an inspiring figure to others.
  5. Delegate but not so much that you become irrelevant. As a sign of servant leadership, you should be able to get your hands dirty with your colleagues, roll up your sleeves and get busy with what needs to be done. You don’t want to be the boss that tells everyone what to do but doesn’t know how to do anything.
  6. Not everyone will be happy about your good fortune. Be ready to lose some “friends”. Remember that a friend or colleague who is unhappy with your success is probably not worth having in the first place. Get over it and don’t apologise for being successful.

What challenges have you faced on getting promoted?