Four things you must know when in transition

At one point or another, newly promoted individuals find themselves managing former peers, or perhaps another person that was competing for the same job they now have. There will be without questions concern raised about how you got the position? Why you and not them? And what this means for them in their professional path?. 

The bad news: you really can’t do much about a few of your former coworkers being upset at you for getting that coveted promotion.  

The Good news: you can move them past their hurt and jealous feelings and get their trust in the process.  

First things first, leadership is not a title is a state of mind.  Here are four steps you need to take to cement your new leadership position while making sure you address your former coworkers concerns.  

1- Make Employee Engagement Your Number ONE Priority.

Clearly the single most important variable in employee engagement is the quality of the relationship between employees and their direct managers or supervisors. Two recent studies, one at Google and other at Facebook have demonstrated that the qualities of a great manager are related to how they treat their employees. Please read these, so you know what are the components that build employee engagement.  You can read more in this blog post. 

2- Take Advantage of the Low Hanging Fruit

People want to know that their needs and wants are addressed.  They want to know that you are interested in how they feel and what can you do to address their concerns. So, schedule a walking meeting with each one of them and follow this two-step process to address their immediate needs and wants. Ask them (individually) a simple question “what can I do to be a better leader for you?” 

This approach is called Feedforward and has been a key component of Marshall Goldsmith’s Executive Coaching practice; it happens to be a cornerstone of my coaching practice as well.  The way it works is very simple and is very effective. Read more about it here.  

3- Be Aware 

As a leader, you need to be aware; awareness is the single most important component in any leadership position. Awareness comes in three flavors, and as a leader, you have to take steps to learn them and benefit from them.  

• Aware of self - what are your needs and wants are, what makes you tick, what are your strengths and weaknesses. 
• Aware of social context - This level of awareness gives you the ability to understand and respond to the needs and wants of the people you interact with daily. People are motivated by hopes and dreams, make sure you know what their hopes and dreams are, it is your job to make sure they are on a path to achieving those hopes and dreams.  
• Aware of Perceptions - Do you know what other people really feel about you? Do you know what this employee really thinks of you? If you asked them and they are completely honest with you and tell you how they see you, what do you think they will say?  Read more about awareness here. 

4) Be Learning All the Time

Often people are promoted because of their expertise in a given field. In many cases, however, they don’t have the soft skills needed to manage people. Yet, the best managers are passionate about learning. “The best learners make the best teachers.” Thus your love for learning will be reflected in the quality of your leadership. Hire a coach, Pick up a book about motivation, employee engagement, leadership, take an online class on how to delegate or set achievable goals, the investment is minimum, but the rewards are great. 

Always remember that great managing is about giving and earning trust.  It’s about constantly being aware and having the humility to ask your Direct Reports what changes you need to make to a be a better leader. 

Leadership is a mindset, not a title, go lead.

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Follow Luis on Twitter, @luis1_velasquez.  For some of his other posts, see, his business blog at www.velasconsulting.com and his book blog at www.beyondthefear.com