Being promoted from within is a testament to your hard work and dedication to your company. A management position comes with some perks, for sure, but it can be a difficult transition. The person you worked side-by-side with yesterday is now working for you. What kind of new manager will you be? Maybe you want to make life easier for the folks who newly work for you. Or, maybe you can’t wait to strut your stuff.
It’s probably best to meet somewhere in the middle. Remember, leaders lead (no matter how uncomfortable it might be) and managers are only as good as the people they manage. When you go from being “one of the gang” to being one of “them,” make your transition smoother by following this advice:
Lead by example. Don’t be late, don’t forget a meeting and don’t act inappropriately. If you make a mistake, admit it publicly and discuss how it negatively impacted the team.
Get real. Privately tell employees your goals for the operation and find out what goals they’re hoping to achieve. Brainstorm ways you can help each other.
Don’t let it slide. Say you manage a convenience store and you see an an employee not using sanitizing solution properly in the food service area. Instead of ignoring it, politely but firmly state the policy and help implement the change. If the problem keeps occurring, privately tell the employee your common position (“If customers become ill, we could all be out of jobs”) and state your view (“It’s my responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen. Now, what can we do to…?”)
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