First off, congratulations on your promotion. You’re a newly christened manager, ready to start leading your team to success. But what do you do? If you’re new to the managerial position, it might take some time to successfully transition into your new role. Here is what you can do to start off on the right track:
• Recognize leaders on your staff. There’s a good chance that your team will have a few informal leaders—co-workers who have no formal authority, but are still influential. Getting them to help you in your transition can help solidify your role as a leader and let everyone know who’s in charge.
• Proceed slowly. Don’t jump into big projects right away. After you get the hang and flow of things, then start to roll out more ambitious endeavors. Pretty soon, everyone should be used to the new manager and how you operate.
• Study prior managers. Analyze what caused previous projects to succeed, and how achievements were reached. Understanding what brings about success will help you reach your goals and solidify future plans, not to mention garner you more respect among your team members.
—Adapted from the High Retention Workforce website