It would be unfair to ask you to listen to this rant without first asking you to take a gracious bow. Go ahead! Do it. For all the career advice you listened to, the long hours at work, your drive to exceed expectations and the will to succeed have borne fruit. You have just been promoted. Standing at a junction as you step into this new role of ‘being the boss’ are a set of expectations and changes waiting to embrace you. You’re now in charge of responsibilities ranging from employee engagement to employer branding strategy, things that you were earlier only a participant in. Ready or not, here they come.
First up, ‘I wasn’t told’ is no longer a valid answer
Being the new boss means having to take the onus, for others and yourself. For instance, as a junior, you could focus on your job role alone but as a boss, you have to take time out from your every day role to think about how to get things going. If for some reason, your company has set you on this path considering that you will learn on-the-job, it’s up to you as an ex-junior to find ways to gain the necessary supervisory experience. You can choose to enrol for an executive development programme on weekends or even speak to friends in other companies who might be in similar roles about the way they do things.
Being judged
Earlier, you could have said things like “I don’t know how to do this” or “can you show me how to get this done?” but no more. Your team now expects you to know your stuff and guide them when they face a similar situation. It may be prudent on your part to deep-dive into how your department functions at an overall level in co-relation with other departments. Remember, your team is closely watching how you conduct yourself. As of this moment, you are the default role model and your role is to convince – not confuse. Which means that if you don’t follow the dress code, others will take it lightly as well. Simply put, you will become the culture of the team.
Getting things done
As an ex-junior, your job now revolves around getting things done more than doing the job yourself. Which means you have to learn to deal with people and see that you help them manage their work effectively. Employee engagement is also a part of this. Yes! There are a set of things for you to do too but understand that your time will also go in solving problems and listening to issues that your team members may face at work. What’s more? This also means that while you were being evaluated on your efforts as a junior, as a boss, your success now depends on how others perform in their jobs. Every once in a while, you may also have to face the fire if someone else makes a mistake. What you need to remember is that this comes with the package of being the boss. The sooner you accept it, the better.
Setting expectations and boundaries
By all means, be approachable as a boss. But, not setting boundaries with besties at work (when you were a junior) can hamper decision-making or even cause a bit of unrest among team members. It would be wise on your part to be humble about your new beginning and speak with your team about how they feel. Ask your team for their support and tell them that you value their efforts. In fact, take some feedback on how the team can work more effectively and implement a few changes. Listen in and don’t forget to appreciate good ideas that come your way. Tell them that you are human and bound to make mistakes. This is part of employee engagement – building an honest, sincere connect with your employees. Show them you mean this by owning up when a situation does arise.
Acceptance is key
Accept the fact that you are not a junior anymore and that no matter what you do, your work relationships with team members who were once co-workers is bound to change. What can you do? Start by understanding the fact that you now have added responsibilities. Your focus therefore needs to be on building a rock solid team. Everything else can follow. One more thing to accept is the fact that at the end of the day, decisions will have to be made. Some may work and some may backfire. Some may be liked by the team and some may receive a lukewarm response. Be mentally prepared.
The air up there
A lot of new managers may believe that their way is the way to do things [considering they are the ones promoted]. Well, not true! Suddenly turning autocratic can come as a shock to the team and will hamper productivity almost instantaneously. Remember, good leaders are professional. Great leaders are human. Don’t forget to be the same junior guy. It’s what got you promoted in the first place.
