You’re Promoted. Congrats! Now What?

Whether this is your first promotion or the latest step in your career progression, you want to get off to a strong start and immediately build rapport with your new team. Here are three focus areas to make those goals a reality.

Get to Know the People on Your Team, Especially Your Direct Reports

Hold a 1-on-1 with each team member with your sole agenda topic being to know them better. Some questions to ask and things to find out:

·         What motivates them?

·         What is most rewarding and challenging to them in this role?

·         What are their own career aspirations?

·         How can you best support them?

Note how these questions help both of you establish a path forward that will be unique to them. Their past and history might be relevant or interesting, and you’ll come to know that in time. This meeting is not about how they (or you) got here – it’s about establishing how you’ll work together from this point on.

Stay in Touch

Set the appropriate meeting cadence with your team. This is vital to do early in your new role, so your team understands how to keep you informed and that your availability and their access to you is reliable and predictable.

While this will vary based on the size of your team and the complexity of your role, consider the following structure:

·         Weekly with your direct reports as a team

·         Weekly or bi-weekly with each direct report

·         Monthly to quarterly “skip-levels” with individuals or small groups (stagger these across the months for larger teams)

·         Quarterly all-hands or town halls

Here’s the secret to holding effective 1-on-1s: set the expectation that this is like “open mic” night and the other person is responsible for the agenda. They should come prepared to be in “broadcast” mode for what is most important to them. You are there as a sounding board and to help them tackle obstacles. You can be prescriptive on outcomes while giving them appropriate discretion on how to approach the assignment.

Use this time as well to share important updates and to check on topics that they might not have brought up.

Comment on Performance Frequently

Avoid the trap of believing annual or semi-annual reviews are the only venues for commenting on a performance. Even if this is how it’s always been for you in your career, break that habit now! The 1-on-1s that you set up are ideal opportunities to share insights and learn from your team member how they feel about a performance.

When you share your insights, focus on the task and not the person. For example, saying “you led that meeting effectively” instead of “you are a strong leader” adds specificity to your comment and gives you the space to contrast highly effective versus less effective performances.

And remember the principle to “praise publicly, criticize privately.” Larger meetings are appropriate for sharing success stories and giving shout-outs to individuals and teams. Save the constructive and developmental comments for your 1-on-1 time.