No BS Management Advice

I thought I would do one of my No BS Management Advice videos, talking to those of you who become new managers. And here's the fun part of it. You're going to be managing your former co workers. Isn't that exciting? For a lot of new managers, it's complicated. And the complication is you have one type of relationship where you are a peer and now you've been elevated and they have to take direction from you.
Now, one of the things just to be aware of, is that sometimes your former colleagues are going to take action without you knowing about it and amongst the things that they might do is reopen a previous decision and try and lobby for a change in your position. These are two challenges to authority . . . and you have to gracefully and always respond with grace because you don't want to come in like a tyrant, do you? All that happens is any goodwill that you have with your former subordinates goes out the window.
So, I'll just simply say, recognize these as two challenges to your authority and quietly bring people into your office or to talk with you privately and say, "I'm confused here. We made a decision about this previously, what's going on?" Or "I noticed you did this and you didn't run it by me. What's that all about?"
"Well, I didn't think you needed to know."
"Well, I do need to know. That's part of my job as a manager, just like it was for (you name the person who preceded you). Just like it was for them, it's going to be for me. So always run things by me, don't just go behind my back, okay?" But, these are kind of symptoms of some of the challenges you may face.
I want to talk with you about a couple of things you can do in order to streamline things be more effective, and transition from co-worker to the manager. So, the first thing you need to do, and I always point out this, is to start building a peer network of your own. You can't rely upon your former colleagues, your former co-workers, I should say, to be your "good buds" anymore. There's now a power differential. You're going to be reviewing their performance and, as such, you are now separate. There is no question about it. You are now separate and, within a week or two, they're going to look at you differently. You might as well just accept that fact and move from there.
In your first meeting with everyone, you can just acknowledge and say, "Hey, look, you know, things are going to be different. I know that and it's not just going to be simply me to you but you to me, as well." so just be aware of this and then start setting expectations about what you want from them.
Do not come in like a dictator; do not arrive as a bully this may be a new experience for you and you could say, "hey, look, I may make mistakes. Just come to me, please. Don't go behind my back. Just come to me directly and tell me. What i'm doing that's ticking you off, getting on your nerves . . . whatever. I'm happy to hear. Hi don't know that i'm necessarily change but i always want you to know that . . . we work together."And, you know, just very simply encourage them to come to you directly.
With that, if you're used to having lunch with everyone, it's time to roll that back a little bit. And not as regularly and start looking to other people that you're going to be socializing with more. There is now a class difference that has been implemented and, in acknowledging that, they know it. They know you've got different responsibilities than them now and you can teach them about some of your new responsibilities. So, as they start to develop, the organization might be able to see them in a different way. If there's any sort of resentment that shows up between them and you, again, you want to make sure that they feel free enough to tell you about it and, at the same time, you don't have to change much of anything. You can say, "I hear you and I'm in the job now and my responsibilities are to do such and such. Your job is to do what you've always thought, which is great work. But I'm not responsible for the promotion. The organization selected me. My job is to deliver the results that they want.
In doing so, I'm going to go to the next item. You want to help the team continue to play to its strengths. In much the same way as you got this promotion because you performed at a high level, you always want to make sure that you're helping others grow to a high level and that they have opportunities, as well.
You always want to make it clear, "hey, look, if you want a promotion, I'm very happy to support you with this and be an advocate. I'm not the decision-maker but I can be an advocate for you. I'm very happy to do that. My job is not to stifle you. My job is to help us get outcomes for the organization and, in doing so, help you learn and develop as I've been learning and developing. I'm not a finished product. I'm here to grow and I want to help you have the same kind of opportunities I'm getting now or better."