Getting a promotion is great, but it inevitably changes your relationship to your co-workers, especially those who have known you in your previous role. Navigating this change smoothly is essential to becoming an effective supervisor. Here are some tips for how to manage your transition from peer to leader.

1. Set expectations early.

Transitioning from a peer to a supervisor role means that you will have a new relationship with your co-workers. Managing this can be tough, but setting clear expectations with them will help them transition to this new relationship, too. Forbes recommends a combination of bringing your coworkers into the conversation and setting clear boundaries. For example, they suggest setting up a one-on-one meeting with your coworkers to discuss their individual expectations and any frustrations they might have. This helps you establish how you can best manage your co-workers and jumpstarts this new relationship. On the other hand, as Forbes points out, you don’t want to treat your team like friends, which may mean distancing yourself from your coworkers.

2. Use what you know.

Since you were formally working under a supervisor at your job, you’re uniquely equipped to know what your coworkers disliked or liked about their management style. In fact, you probably already have an opinion about this yourself. Tap into that knowledge as you begin this new role in your team, forming new, positive patterns in team dynamics.

3. Take it slow.

While you may have some opinions about how your former supervisor managed your team or you may want to make some changes, take it slow when you’re first starting out. This will allow you to better learn the parameters and needs of your new role. After getting comfortable with the new role, you may decide some things you initially wanted to change don’t need to change, or your ideas about how manage better may change.

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