101: LEADER TRANSITIONING
Getting promoted to a leadership or managerial position is great, a fruit of the labor of one's hard work. Going from a coworker to a boss can bring challenges, as well. It pays to reflect on the circumstances and situation at hand rather than just jump in. Here are three things to keep in mind before you pack up your favorite mug and make the trek to the corner office:
Respond to that specific situation. Each team and each company has its own special set of circumstances that need to be addressed. Sometimes these situations require difficult decisions to clear the path for your transition. A Michael Watkins article in Harvard Business Review discusses Stefan, who was promoted to manager. “There was an influential manager who, despite Stefan's best efforts, didn't grasp the need for change; in fact, the manager's inaction threatened to undermine Stefan's leadership,” he wrote. Where firing that person sent a message, so did the fact that Stefan filled the post from within, Watkins said, showing confidence in company strengths.
Customize. Where the executive before you likely molded the job around his or her skills and preferences, the role became defined that way, points out an article at KornFerry.com, a leadership institute website. Also, connected roles in the company may have been built around that. “Be conscious of how you will need to reshape the role and team to fit you” and best benefit the company, said the article.
Know that it's OK to say “I don't know.” “Discuss the benefits and challenges associated with being forthright about what knowledge you lack individually and as a team,” says another HBR.org article by Steven D'Souza and Diana Renner. This does a few things: reduces expectations that you will have all the answers; opens up room for growth; and creates safety for your team to admit that they don't have all the answers, either.
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