Most people relish the opportunities they are given when they are promoted into a managerial or supervisory level role. But it’s not always a rosy transition and there are many challenges for the newly promoted person.
A recent article on Lifehack by Alexandra Levit referred to the difficulties associated with “level transition”. One common difficulty is that some newly appointed managers have a challenge in letting go of the detail of their prior role and so do not allow their team members the opportunity to grow and develop, which in turn impacts upon team capacity. Some new managers/leaders also steer away from recruiting high-level performers so as to avoid being threatened in their new role.
Alexandra’s article includes some advice for the newly appointed leader to guide them towards what should be done when moving to a more senior level role. The main advice is to ensure everyone’s work is focused upon the overall strategy and top priorities. From there, ensure that there is an alignment of your team and help them to link with wider areas of your organisation.
There is nothing wrong with being an individual contributor and it is important that a person being offered a more senior role takes some time out to consider whether a managerial or leadership role will take them too far away from the activities they most enjoy.
For more information on how to survive and thrive in a shift into management click here.
See related article ‘the awkwardness of an internal promotion’