So You Just Got Promoted to Management – What Next?
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So You Just Got Promoted to Management – What Next?
When assuming a new management role, your job as their leader is not simply to bring out the best in your people. Your goal (through words and example) is to get them to play over their heads… to do things they normally couldn’t do, and achieve goals beyond their normal talents and abilities. Your job is to create a synergy that allows your employees to produce more together than they could have done individually. Three key ingredients to making this happen are awareness, passion and focus.
Awareness is the essential ingredient in discovering and addressing problems.
Passion is an essential ingredient to winning, from the basketball court to the corporate office.
Focus is the ingredient which helps keep your team’s eye on the ball and their vision on winning.
Caution: Your people won’t be aware if you are not aware – passionate unless you’re passionate – and focused unless you’re focused.
The following steps are an excellent process to use when you get promoted to your first or subsequent management position.
Caution: Do all of the following steps, but do them quickly. Action beats brilliance!
1. Delay Making Major Decisions: Don’t make major changes or big decisions too soon. To the extent possible, take a low-key approach until you are ready. Gather information, see how things are done and get to know your people.
2. Study Their Past Successes: Discover what major accomplishments they are proud of. New leaders will gain respect quicker when they recognize and appreciate what the group has done previously. Recognizing past accomplishments will better equipped you to build a solid plan for the future.
3. Do “one-on-one” Interviews: This allows you to establish yourself quickly, build trust and learn important information about your people and the organization. Ask questions and… “Listen to Learn.” Take notes and let them do 80% of the talking. Use the following questions to gain solid insight:
• What is keeping you from doing your best?
• What can I do to help you accomplish your job?
• What makes you feel appreciated?
• What specific strengths do you bring to this organization?
• What specific personal development plans are you pursuing?
• What did my predecessor do that we should continue?
• What did my predecessor do that we should stop?
• What do you see as my role in this organization?
• What problems do you think needs immediate attention?
• What long-term direction do you think we should take?
4. Identify the Informal Leaders: Informal leaders can make or break you. Informal leaders are those who are not in formal positions of power or authority, but have the ability to influence actions and attitudes over others. Making them your allies can enhance what you are trying to accomplish. Also, are they ready for advancement to a formal leadership role? Are they a rising star?
5. Conduct a Meeting: Avoid having a meeting until you have something specific to say and enough background information to speak with authority. Highlight some of their past successes, the issues or problems affecting the group and what you plan on doing. Talk about some of the changes you are considering and why. This is your opportunity to provide a positive first impression. The following are some points you can share.
• Your background and experience
• Just enough personal information to show you are human
• Your expectations
• Your leadership style
• Your communication style
• How they can submit innovative ideas to help in the changes you are considering.
6. Set Goals and Start Solving Problems: Now is time to set goals for the future. Involve your people as much as possible in this process. High Impact Teams win best when they take part in developing the game plan.
There are many additional situations which will arise as you move into a management role; however, the above six points will help you get off to a solid and productive start. They will also help you start the important process of establishing a great rapport with those you will lead and have a positive impact on the organization.
So You Just Got Promoted to Management What Next - To learn more about this author, visit Roger Ingbretsen's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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