Congrats, You Got the Promotion! Now What?

Posted on April 14th, 2011 by Keith Ferrazzi

Kevin Eikenberry is an author, speaker, trainer, consultant, and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group. His new book, co-authored with Guy Harris, From Bud to Boss – Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership launched on February 15th.-KF

Three Transition Challenges and Suggestions by Kevin Eikenberry

When you move from bud to boss, from being an individual contributor to a team to being the leader of the team, you face three transitions.

The Transition of Relationships – When you change jobs, relationships change. You have a new boss, and even if you knew the boss before, it is different. If you were promoted from within you have significant changes in the dynamics with your former peers.

The Transition of Skills - When you get a new role, new skills are required. While this might be most noticeable as you first become a leader or supervisor, it is true in all promotions. The new job places new expectations on you which require new, enhanced or advanced skills.

The Transition of Perspective or Mindset - When you get promoted, you are invited to new meetings, are privy to new information, and must, if you want to be successful, think about the world in new ways. Of the three, this one is most often neglected or ignored. It is a more subtle transition, and when recognized will bring the biggest jump in performance.

So what are some ways to deal with or overcome these challenges?

While not a comprehensive list, these ideas, when implemented, will speed your transition and boost your leadership effectiveness.

  • Decide to engage. Recognize the relationship changes and be proactive in initiating conversations with the people required. Some of these conversations might not be initially comfortable and some people might not want to have them (“things are just fine, don’t worry about it”, they may say). You might convince yourself there are more pressing matters. Don’t listen to that voice. Have these conversations and decide to engage and build those relationships in your new context.
  • Become an intentional learner. New skills needed? New experiences required? No problem if you build a plan and dedicate yourself to the business of your professional development. The good news is that the skills you learn will apply to all parts of your life.
  • Create the mindset. Consciously changing your perspective may seem like a challenge but it can be done. Decide to be more observant, find a mentor (or new peer) who has developed the new perspective, and challenge yourself to think bigger and more positively.

This is adapted from Kevin Eikenberry's From Bud to Boss - Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership.

Have you ever dealt with thorny relationship challenges with colleagues after a promotion?

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