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Are you transitioning from peers to a manager? It can be a complicated process, but it’s important to remember that with great power comes great responsibility. As a new manager, it’s your job to set the tone for your team and help them reach their goals.
This article will provide the importance of new responsibilities, five ways you can use when transitioning from peer to manager, and challenges you may encounter.
Understand Your Responsibilities for New Position
The transition from team member to manager is a big one. In most cases, it’s the most significant transition people will face in their careers.
As a manager, you’re now responsible for coaching and guiding your team, making decisions that affect others, handling tough conversations, and maintaining a professional distance. So it would help if you also learned to react professionally to people’s behavior instead of emotionally.
You can do a few different things to develop your leadership skills for a new position. One option is to ask your manager for help. They can share tips and techniques with you that they have learned from their own experiences.
Another option is to reach out to other supervisors and learn from them. Taking responsibility for your leadership development and prioritizing it is also essential.
By taking these steps, you will be well to becoming an effective leader.
Related: Managers as a Leader
5 Tips to Manage Transitioning From Peer to Manager
Here are five ways you can use for a smooth transition:
1. Get re-acquainted with your new role
As a leader, it’s essential to be open and transparent with your team. This helps people understand your leadership style and how you define high performance. In addition, it lets your team get to know you personally, which can help build trust and respect.
To help people get to know you better:
- Consider setting the reset button at your next team meeting.
- Share things about yourself that your team may not know, such as how your background has formed your values or how you handle disagreements.
- Open it up to questions so people can get clarification on anything they’re unsure about.
Being open and sharing information about yourself will help build a stronger relationship with your team.
2. Schedule One-on-one Meetings
One-on-one meetings are a place where you can be open and honest with your team about the challenges of your new role.
Acknowledge the transition with each person and let them know you are committed to making the group dynamic work for everyone. Use these meetings to ask your team members about their vision for the team and how they see their role within it.
As their manager, it is your job to be supportive and helpful, so ask them what challenges they see and how you can help address them. One-on-ones are vital to building trust and mutual respect with your team, so make the most of them.
3. Delegate your work
As any manager knows, delegating work is essential to running a successful team. Not only does it help to distribute the workload more evenly, but it also allows employees to focus on their strengths. This, in turn, can lead to increased engagement and productivity.
This is backed up by research from Gallup. Their “State of the American Manager” report found that a very small group of items could explain almost all the variation between high- and low-performing teams.
Thus, it’s clear that delegating work is crucial for any manager who wants to create a successful and engaged team.
By taking the time to match tasks with employees’ strengths, you can set them up for success and create an environment where everyone can thrive.
4. Develop others’ expertise
As an expert in your field, you are undoubtedly used to being promoted above your peers. However, your new role as a leader requires you to let go of your expertise and focus on leadership skills.
Conversations with your direct reports allow you to learn how best to support them in their own expert development. This may include giving them more responsibility, offering feedback and guidance, or simply providing opportunities to grow their skills.
By investing in the development of others, you can create a strong team of future leaders who are equipped to handle any challenge that comes their way.
5. Identify your perceived value
When you are promoted to a leadership position, it is essential to remember that you will need to treat all of your subordinates equally. This cannot be easy if you have developed friendships with some team members, but it is essential to maintain a healthy work environment.
As a career counselor and executive coach, Roy Cohen explains, “Although you may feel open-minded, some members of the group will feel marginalized if you are perceived as having a closer relationship with them; immediately.”
To avoid this type of problem, you must commit to demonstrating your ability to treat everyone fairly. This might require changing your behavior, but it will be worth it in the long run.
Challenges when moving from peer to manager
Transitioning from peer to manager can be a difficult process. There are a few key challenges that you may face during this time.
One of the biggest challenges you’ll face when moving from being a peer to a manager is learning how to delegate work effectively. When you’re used to doing everything yourself, it can be challenging to let go of control and trust others to get the job done. But to be a successful manager, you must learn how to delegate.
Another challenge is that you will need to learn how to manage people. This includes setting expectations, providing feedback, and handling conflict. It can be challenging to adjust to this new role, especially if you are used to being on the same level as everyone else.
Finally, you’ll also need to learn how to manage your own time and energy. When you’re responsible for a team, there are a lot of demands on your time and attention. So you’ll need to be able to prioritize and stay organized to succeed.
These are just a few challenges you may face when moving from peer to manager. But with time and practice, you will adjust to this new role and become an effective leader.
Related: Manager vs Supervisor
Conclusion
Transitioning into a new management position can be difficult, but it’s important to remember that with great power comes great responsibility. As a new manager, it’s your job to set the tone for your team and help them reach their goals. These five tips should give you a good starting point for becoming an effective leader.
Have you found other techniques that work well for you? Let us know in the comments below!
FAQ
What is the first thing to do when managing former peers?
When transitioning into a management position over former peers, you must be respectful, humble, and realistic about your new authority. Of course, respect is vital when managing anyone, but it’s essential when addressing people who used to be your peers.
How do you supervise a former coworker?
You could establish specific guidelines for the former coworker’s new role and then meet with them regularly to ensure they follow the guidelines. Alternatively, you could assign them a mentor who can help them adjust to their new role.
How do you manage someone older and more experienced?
If you’re attracted to your leader, remaining professional cannot be easy. If they are older and more experienced, you may wonder how to best manage the situation while ensuring that your work relationship remains intact. However, here are some essential things to keep in mind:
• Respect their experience and wisdom.
• At the same time, don’t be afraid to hold your ground.
• Be an attractive leader.
What training is needed to be a supervisor?
Training is needed to be a supervisor, but it varies depending on industry and position. However, some general things in the movement for supervisors would be workplace safety procedures, how to effectively communicate with employees, managing workplace conflict, and overseeing work schedules.
How do you get promoted as a team leader?
To be promoted as a team leader, you must have a proven track record in a leading business or team. Typically, your boss would need to recommend you for the promotion, which would go through a series of interviews and evaluations.
