[Alicia Davis] If you are a manager, maybe you were recently promoted, and now you need to manage someone that used to be your peer… that’s what we’re going to talk about today because we know how uncomfortable and challenging that can be, don’t we Stacie?

[Stacie Watson] Yes, we certainly do. And you know, so many of the organizations we work with really pride themselves on promoting from within.

[Alicia Davis] For sure.

[Stacie Watson] And, you know, it’s such a really powerful and empowering practice to have as an organization. And it can be a little challenging if you’re the person that’s been promoted. And so we wanted to just talk a little bit about maybe just one or two things that you might want to consider in terms of how you approach and deal with these folks who used to be peers, and now are, you know, reporting to you in your new role. And I think one of the things is just to be really open and honest about the fact that others on the team might have some big feelings about it. Right?

[Alicia Davis] Right, especially if others on the team are also – potentially – in running for the promotion. Right? There might be feelings of disappointment, or frustration, or maybe even anger. And so, you know, as hard as that, that conversation might be, I think you use the word overt like, it is really important to just be really, you know, courageous, and have these conversations as soon as possible and really validate people’s feelings and acknowledge that right? And that it’s very much about how expectations are set. Right?

[Stacie Watson] Right. Yeah. You know, I think that’s a big part. I mean, honestly, that’s a big part of any direct report relationship, we went to always set clear expectations with the people on our team. And in this particular situation, it can be even maybe more important because the relationship dynamics have changed.

[Alicia Davis] That’s right.

[Stacie Watson] So to be able to be really clear about sort of what my roles and responsibilities will involve, and what your roles and responsibilities will involve the more again, overt, clear we can be, just the better it is for everyone, you know. Brene Brown says “clear is kind,” and…

[Alicia Davis] That’s right.

[Stacie Watson] I love, I love that quote. Because even though it might feel hard to have the conversation, in some ways, it is the most supportive and kind thing we can do often.

[Alicia Davis] That’s right. For sure. And we have upcoming, in our TLS Learning Academy, a two-hour session on Navigating Healthy Boundaries with Staff. So it’s coming up on August 20th. If you want to check it out, it’s at academy.TLStransforms.com. And I’m Alicia Davis.

[Stacie Watson] I’m Stacie Watson.

[Alicia Davis] And we are the founders and co-owners of Transformative Leadership Strategies then, thanks so much for listening. Talk to you soon.

[Stacie Watson] Thank you.