Woman NewsCareer Success - Got the Promotion.... Now What?
So you finally got the news that you are getting the promotion, and with the realization that now your job is going to be changing, you have this trepidation that you are not really ready for the new job. This feeling of wandering outside of your comfort zone to do something that you have not done before can be quite daunting. Have some faith in yourself and those that haven chosen you for the position. They would not have chosen you if they did not think that you were capable of doing the job better than any of the other applicants.
So fortunately you have a few weeks before you are actually expected to fill the position - what is it that you are going to do with this time? Are you going to feel so good about getting the job, that you don"t do anything to make the transition easier, or are you going to spend this time going over things that you could and maybe should do to make the transition as easy as possible?
Obviously you don"t know all of what the job entails, no one expects that you do - you were chosen most likely because you have the ability to learn the ropes and not because you already possess all of the requirements.
So what are some of the things that you can do? Well you can spend some time finding out about the team you are going to be leading. Find out who is doing the work and who is getting the credit for it, get to see if you have any troublemakers in the group - and plan how you are going to get them back onto the same road as the rest of the team. If you can, find out what issues are currently plaguing the team, see if you can do anything to relieve some of the issues. These are especially important if it"s a team that you don"t know.
Obviously this is not all you can do, whatever you do will be beneficial. Planning and looking for ways to make things better for the team you are now leading will go a long way to making the transition easier for them as well as you.
Whatever you do, do not go in and make it apparent that you are there to change things, people are always apprehensive about change, it is going to be enough of an adjustment for them to get used to you, you will have plenty of time to address the issues that arise and make the changes seem to be their ideas, which of course will give the changes a better chance of success.
Most important of everything - have fun and remember to be the kind of leader that you would want to work for. No one likes the tyrannical dictator type, there are times when you are going to have to lay down the law to those that are less than co-operative, do it in a professional manner and do not let your personal feelings get in the way. On the other hand remember that you are no longer "one of the guys" although you can be friendly with the team and you can even be friends outside of work, while you are at work you must at all times conduct yourself according to the professional standards that have been laid down. Never let personal feelings get in the way of making a sound business decision.
All that being said, go have some fun and congratulations on the promotion.