![\"Businessman](\"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/03\/promotion.jpg\")
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You\u2019ve been in your job at work for a few years, and for almost as long you\u2019ve been angling for a promotion to a higher position. One day the desired slot opens up, and your boss calls you into his office to let you know you\u2019ve got the job. You\u2019re excited, of course. As you should be! But you also feel a bit of trepidation. Even though you\u2019ve thought a lot about getting this promotion, you haven\u2019t really thought much about the reality of what your new position will entail. How will you handle it, particularly being put over folks who used to be your peers? You\u2019ll be managing the folks you used to complain <\/span>with<\/span><\/i>; you might now be \u201cthe man\u201d that folks want to complain <\/span>about<\/span><\/i>. <\/span><\/p>\n Many promotions mean moving up a corporate ladder and managing people you previously worked with on the same level. That\u2019s just how business hierarchies work. Even if you were already a manager, maybe you moved up a rung and are now leading other managers. No matter the scenario, there\u2019s often some awkwardness and politics to navigate. <\/span><\/p>\n (Granted, that\u2019s not all promotions. Sometimes you just get a new title, a salary boost, and some new responsibilities, without moving into a new management role. In those cases, your transition is probably a little more straightforward.) <\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re in a new position where you\u2019re being asked to oversee your former peers and\/or current friends, here are a few tips on how to handle that transition smoothly and successfully:<\/span><\/p>\n You\u2019ve earned a promotion! Huzzah! You should rightly celebrate. Get yourself a new suit<\/a> or briefcase, go out to a fancy restaurant with your family and\/or friends, and take some time to appreciate that your hard work paid off. <\/span><\/p>\n But, don\u2019t do those things in front of your coworkers (possibly now your subordinates). Take a pass on the victory lap around the office and the shouts of \u201cYippee! Suck it, losers!\u201d Wear your new suit to work, of course, but don\u2019t brag about it as a prize to yourself for getting promoted. Don\u2019t mention to your office mates that you had the most expensive, best tasting steak in the world last night. Play it cool, man. Rubbing it in their face, especially if it\u2019s someone you don\u2019t really like, might be exactly what you want to do, but won\u2019t get you started on the right foot in your new position. <\/span><\/p>\n Just because you won\u2019t celebrate your promotion in the face of your coworkers doesn\u2019t mean it has to go totally unacknowledged. It\u2019s not a bad idea to briefly meet face-to-face with the folks you now manage and have a conversation about what the relationship might look like moving forward. You might say something like: <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cOf course things are a little different now, but, as your manager, I want nothing more than for you to succeed. Don\u2019t hesitate to come to me with any issues you might have; my goal is to provide you with training, skills, oversight, and an environment that promotes your own success here. Here\u2019s my vision for our team and how we\u2019ll operate . . . Do you have questions or concerns right off the bat? Are there any changes you\u2019d like to see made in how things are run?\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re now managing some of the people with whom you were once equal peers, it might be hard to forget some of the shenanigans they participated in: the company-sponsored networking event where Bill had a few too many drinks; the time Rob called in sick, but you know he was really just at home watching March Madness (and texting you the whole time). <\/span><\/p>\n Now that you\u2019re managing these people, what do you do? The best tactic is to wipe the slate clean of any past misdeeds. That doesn\u2019t mean looking the other way in the face of future poor etiquette or the breaking of company rules, but it does mean you should forgive and forget things that might have happened before you entered your new role. <\/span><\/p>\n While a promotion sure enough means a salary boost and sometimes a new office that\u2019s all yours, it also means greater responsibility. You might now have access to more sensitive information, or even just greater access to higher level folks in the company. You\u2019re probably being watched a bit more by both your superiors (not micromanaged necessarily, but in a \u201ccan he handle this?\u201d sort of way) and those you\u2019re now in charge of. <\/span><\/p>\n If you used to regularly be 5-10 minutes late, make it a habit to be 5-10 minutes early instead. If you used to commiserate with your peers about lame company policies or engage in gossip about your coworkers, make it a point to stay away from those conversations. In a higher level position, your example means a whole lot more. If you\u2019re occasionally showing up late or gossiping, people will take that to mean that it\u2019s okay to do those things. <\/span><\/p>\n Also be sure you aren\u2019t sharing privileged information with those who aren\u2019t privy to it. Maybe you now know the CEO\u2019s salary, or you found out some weird quirk of his that would make your buddies laugh \u2014 hold it in. Take the responsibility of the new position seriously. <\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s inevitable that your relationship will change with your former work pals when you\u2019ve been promoted, especially if you\u2019re now directly managing them. Don\u2019t be surprised if you aren\u2019t invited to happy hour, or if breakroom conversation lulls when you show up. There\u2019s a power dynamic in place that just can\u2019t be ignored; your old pals don\u2019t want to put themselves in any sort of compromising position. It\u2019s a hard truth, but something you\u2019ll just have to accept. You don\u2019t want to be the supervisor who desperately wants back in with his old crew. <\/span><\/p>\n Your interactions might be a little more stilted, but if you work at making everyone feel comfortable and like they\u2019re heard, you can maintain the good relationships you had before, albeit with slightly different dynamics. <\/span><\/p>\n Even if your coworkers are okay with you still joining them at the water cooler or going out to eat together for lunch, it might be a good idea to intentionally remove yourself \u2014 at least a little bit \u2014 from those scenarios. If you\u2019re now the boss, maintaining a relationship that\u2019s purely friendly won\u2019t lend you the authority to deal with problems when they come up, be they minor things (like subordinates taking slightly long lunch breaks) or serious (like needing to fire them<\/a>). Your leadership in general can come in to question if your relationship doesn\u2019t change in the least bit. <\/span><\/p>\n If you disengage from casual chit-chat, and say yes to fewer lunch invitations, you\u2019ll start to cultivate that air of authority that you may need in your new position. It\u2019s not necessarily fun, but again, just comes with the territory of having more responsibility. Embrace the change, and take it as a chance to expand your social life outside the office. Workplace friendships are great at times (in fact you need a work pal!<\/a>), but don\u2019t tend to be the longest-lasting or most meaningful. <\/span><\/p>\n Now, if you\u2019ve been promoted to a different division or office and you aren\u2019t directly overseeing the people you once worked with, there\u2019s nothing wrong with maintaining those relationships as you did before. <\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve been promoted, it might be because you\u2019ve had some great ideas that have been implemented, and you have even more in this new position about how things should operate. Be careful about changing things too quickly though. Even if some systems and processes are outdated, you don\u2019t want to change up how things have been going for years and years until you\u2019ve been in your new position for a little while. For the new guy on the job to make wholesale fixes will seem foolhardy to others \u2014 like you don\u2019t have enough experience to fully appreciate what\u2019s going on. And really, that\u2019s true. Problems will often look different from the inside than they did from the outside; you\u2019ll find out some nuances and complexities you formerly weren\u2019t privy to. <\/span><\/p>\n So take some time to get the lay of the land and get used to your new position before you go about making big, sweeping changes. When you do, it\u2019ll seem more measured rather than an impulsive need to change things for the sake of changing things. <\/span><\/p>\n You don\u2019t want to step on any toes or damage any relationships before you even get started. <\/span><\/p>\n Chances are good that as you move into a new role, you\u2019ll realize you have a lot to learn. You were likely in your old position for at least a couple years, and in that time, you came to know your daily processes and the ins and outs of your job like the back of your hand. You just intuitively get into a real groove after a period of time, and you\u2019ve likely forgotten how much you had to learn and how rough the going was at the very start. <\/span><\/p>\n Now in a new role, even within the same company, you\u2019re sort of starting from scratch again. You have new systems to learn, new supervisors to get in sync with, and most likely, new skills and managerial techniques to hone. <\/span><\/p>\n Especially if you\u2019re brand new to managing people, you\u2019ll need to learn how your team works best and what motivates them, both individually and as a cohesive unit. You\u2019ll also need to bone up on conflict resolution, negotiation, delegation, etc. This is another reason you don\u2019t want to make sweeping changes right off the bat; you may have a lot to learn, especially about how your team operates, and you don\u2019t want to jump the gun before you have enough facts or skills under your belt. <\/span><\/p>\n When you\u2019re promoted, even if you\u2019ve worked hard at getting there, it can feel like you don\u2019t quite belong — like you\u2019re faking it or pulling one over on your higher-ups. The reality, though, is that you did work hard, and you were chosen for a promotion for a reason. Don\u2019t be timid or demure about the new role; act like you belong there. Fake it until you make it, and assume the mask of command<\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n Consider even changing your style to reflect the new position. Maybe in your old role you wore the classic office uniform of khakis and a polo or long-sleeve button-up shirt. Now that you\u2019re moving up the ladder, consider subtly upping your wardrobe a level as well, even and especially if you don\u2019t have to. Add a blazer or two to the mix, level up your shoes<\/a> and other accessories, and heck, even wear a suit now and then (as long as a suit is just one notch or so above what everyone else is wearing; you don\u2019t want to rock one when the workplace uniform is jeans and a polo; <\/span>in that case, know how to rock a sports jacket with jeans<\/span><\/a>). <\/span><\/p>\n Your new duds will not only function as a signal of authority to others, but to yourself as well, helping you psychologically step into your new role and key into a more confident mindset.<\/span><\/p>\n Support the people under you as much as possible and help them get better at their jobs. Take the time to teach; don\u2019t just tell them what to do, but show them how to do it, and explain <\/span>why <\/span><\/i>they do it. Offer praise, both privately and publicly. Listen to their ideas, and if they\u2019re good, pass them on to your own supervisor.<\/span><\/p>\n Such mentorship benefits your subordinates, but it benefits you too; the higher-ups won\u2019t likely give you another promotion until they feel confident someone in your department is ready to take your place. As you help those under you move up, you help yourself move up too!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" You\u2019ve been in your job at work for a few years, and for almost as long you\u2019ve been angling for a promotion to a higher position. One day the desired slot opens up, and your boss calls you into his office to let you know you\u2019ve got the job. You\u2019re excited, of course. As you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":82870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[424,6,42279],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-82866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-career","category-featured","category-money-wealth"],"featured_image_urls":{"large":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/03\/pro-feat-503x280.png","reactor-320":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/03\/pro-feat-320x204.png","aesop-tiny-cover":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/03\/pro-feat-400x254.png","aesop-character":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/03\/pro-feat-200x200.png","aesop-collection":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/03\/pro-feat-300x300.png","aesop-grid-image":"https:\/\/content.artofmanliness.com\/uploads\/2018\/03\/pro-feat-400x254.png"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82866"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":139604,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82866\/revisions\/139604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82866"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/app-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=82866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Celebrate! (But Quietly)<\/h3>\n
Acknowledge the Change<\/h3>\n
Operate With a Clean Slate<\/h3>\n
You Have More Responsibility Now; Act Like It<\/h3>\n
Don\u2019t Be Hurt If You\u2019re Treated Differently . . . <\/span><\/h3>\n
. . . In Fact, You Should Establish Some Boundaries<\/h3>\n
Make Changes Slowly<\/h3>\n
Learn What You Have Yet to Learn<\/h3>\n
Act Like You Belong<\/h3>\n
Mentor Your Subordinates<\/h3>\n