You did the overtime, spoke up in meetings, and spent long nights cultivating other peoples amazing (and not so amazing) ideas, and its finally happening, you’ve been promoted. Now that you know, you’re not invisible and “they†believe in you, lets celebrate the excitement and utter fear of new, high bar expectations that are certain to ensue.
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Though you’ve landed a new position, insecurities still exist, as to whether or not you’re capable of handling your new set of responsibilities while continuing to impress the masses.
According to Fast Company’s Elizabeth Grace Saunders, if you only think about doing more work and making more people happy, then you’re setting yourself for potential failure, burnout … or both. She’s broken-down post promotion success into three must remember tips to get you delegating, defining your new role and prioritizing.
Here are her three counterintuitive truths that will dramatically improve your chance of success after a promotion:
1. You must define what you’re not going to do anymore.
If you spend more time in one area, then you need to spend less time in another. That means in addition to determining what you will do following your promotion, you need to define what you won’t do anymore. That could mean decreasing the amount of projects you’re responsible for–instead of doing reports, models, or proposals, simply review them. That could mean putting some of your direct reports under another manager. That could mean answering fewer emails that an assistant can reply to instead.
It’s essential you clarify what you won’t do for a number of reasons:
- It helps you to recognize when you need to delegate versus doing it yourself.
- It allows the people reporting to you to take full responsibility for their jobs.
- It forces you to really do your new job.
2. You must delegate.
Yes, you got promoted because you were recognized for your skills, hard work, and potential. This can make it tempting–particularly if you’re feeling a bit uncertain about your promotion–to horde work. You want to show you can do it all yourself–and well.
The only problem is every time you get a promotion, you need to depend on others more, not less. That means getting the team in place around you in the office who can take responsibilities off your plate so you can get the higher level strategic and management work done.
3. You must stick to your priorities
The higher you go in your organization, the more the basics matter. You don’t need less sleep, you need more–and to be far stricter about making it a priority. Being sleep deprived dramatically decreases your emotional control, decision-making ability, and productivity. You can’t afford to have those compromised at the next level.
You don’t need less exercise, you need more–or to simply maintain a solid schedule of physical care if you’re already staying in shape. Regular movement improves your health, your mood, and your energy levels.