TRANSITIONING FROM PEER TO SUPERIOR

You have worked in an entry-level position for many years now and you pretty much outgrew the job. A posting opened up for a management-level position and you apply. Several internal candidates also applied, and the end result was you were the selected candidate. You're excited because you worked hard over the years and earned it. This is a big accomplishment and you're looking forward to the next steps in your career. Well, until you actually experience the transition from peer to superior.

Before your promotion you went out to lunch with your co-workers, happy hour on Fridays, occasionally hung out on weekends, and even listened to each other life issues; sometimes work issues. You built a workplace friendship and, in some cases, genuine friendships. Once promoted you find out that the transition is not as sweet as you thought it would be. The friends you once had become distant and you're in a space all alone. The issue with the transition is your peers weren't prepared and neither were you. In any promotion in your life, you're going to experience a loss of some sort. In most cases, some "friends" or "associates" will become strangers. Listed below are some strategies to consider to make the transition less strenuous and more deserving:

Have the talk - If your co-workers are true friends then they should be happy for you and respect your position. It's important that after you accept the promotion you let them know ahead of time that things will change. Some will understand and some may not. Either way, you want to have the talk. Let them know that your personal and business life have to be kept separate. Also, explain that you're not opting out of the friendship, but everyday lunch runs and happy hour every Friday are things of the past. Now, occasional meetups are fine as long as they don't take advantage of your friendship and start asking you to disclose private information. You want to be upfront and ask for them not to put you in that type of position. A true friend will help you make the adjustment much easier.

Don't be a pushover - If this is your first promotion and your peers are in the same age group as yourself then trust me no matter how smart and knowledgeable you are, you will have some employees try to take advantage of you. They will automatically assume that you will bend the rules, push things under the rug, etc. Starting out you have to put your foot down and let them know your expectations early on. You don't want to come off as arrogant but at times may have to come across as stern. It's not personal, it's business!

Don't jeopardize your job - There are plenty of cases where people have been demoted because they weren't able to successfully make the transition. The sad part is you'll regret it, but your peers won't. If your habits fail to change you will eventually jeopardize losing the promotion you worked so hard for. You can't go out every day for lunch. The other managers or employees in the office will become suspicious. You may very well keep it professional and not share any company information. However, people talk and how things appear through the eyes of others will make things that much harder for you to defend.

Share your story. Are you still friends with co-workers? Did your promotion change your friend group? What other tips do you find helpful that wasn't shared?

WATCH CLIP 3 – PROMOTED AT 23 WITH NO DEGREE!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jamelah Henry specializes in producing "All-Star" employees for the workplace. She is a product of a job training program from early in her career. She used the skillsets that she learned and was immediately recognized by top employers. After a few short years in the workforce, she was promoted to a management position. She spent the last 17 years of her career working as a manager, trainer, recruiter, and entrepreneur specializing in hiring, training, coaching, and developing both existing and new hire employees to bring their best to the workplace. She is an SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) Certified Professional, earned a B.S. in Human Resource Management from Wilmington University, and a member of the Delta Epsilon Rho Honor Society. She is also a current member of the National Resume Writers Association (NRWA) and working towards a certification as a National Resume Writer. In her spare time, she likes giving back to her community!