SmartPulse — our weekly nonscientific reader poll in SmartBrief on Leadership — tracks feedback from more than 190,000 business leaders. We run the poll question each week in our e-newsletter.
Last week, we asked: Are you comfortable promoting members of your team to manage former peers?
- Yes — I’m fine with making those kinds of moves: 71.66%
- Kind of — I know it can create awkward situations: 25.4%
- No — it creates challenging dynamics: 2.94%
Support their leap. Making the leap from peer to boss is one of the more challenging advancement moves people face in their career. The awkwardness of being your friends’ boss, challenges to legitimacy, and previously “confidential” perspectives now being known by the new boss will stretch the new leader’s capabilities. Your job as their boss is to help them objectively assess their team members and create a plan to lead them effectively. Be sure you invest the time to help your newly-promoted team member succeed.
Mike Figliuolo is managing director of thoughtLEADERS, author of “Lead Inside the Box: How Smart Leaders Guide Their Teams to Exceptional Results” and “One Piece of Paper: The Simple Approach to Powerful, Personal Leadership.”